


A Dead Bird's Dance

by Lactish



Series: DC Dance Studio AU [1]
Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Dance, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Dick Grayson is a Good Brother, Good Grandparent Alfred Pennyworth, Jason Todd is an ok brother, Other, Selina is a Good Mom, Smoking, Tim Drake is shy, Underage Drinking, dance studio AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:34:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 24,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27843058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lactish/pseuds/Lactish
Summary: Tim Drake-Wayne loves dancing, he always had ever since his parents took him to that dance show oh so many years ago, he has loved dance. He had spent day after day practicing his dances, but after his parent’s death, he lost his passion. He became dead to himself. A short while after being adopted into a fairly artistic family, he gains a tiny spark of confidence to start anew in dance. What happens when three new kids from Kansas come to visit the city of Gotham and come to Gotham Dance & Arts Studio and decide to try and befriend the shy boy?
Relationships: Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent
Series: DC Dance Studio AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2038105
Comments: 39
Kudos: 59





	1. A String of Tragedies

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, Okay this is gonna be the first Fic that I've ever posted on anything so please don't kill me lol  
> I do like comments tho! Also, sorry I didn't have a ton of time to do a lot of revisions!!! 
> 
> here's some info you should know about this Fic (this doesn't apply to this chapter! it applies to the fic when the time skip happens!)
> 
> Dick Grayson - 23 years old (Wally is like 2 years & 1/2 older Donna is just a year older)  
> Jason Todd - about 20 years old  
> Tim Drake - 17 years old  
> Duke Thomas - 16 Years old  
> Cassandra Cain - 17 1/2 years old  
> Damian Wayne - 12 1/2 Years old (Jon is about a year or 2 younger)
> 
> Conner Kent/Cassie Sandsmark/Bart Allen - 17 years old
> 
> (That's what I consider important to this fic anyway idk enjoy it tho)!

Dance. Dance had been his life before that string of tragedies wrecked his life. First, it was that boy from the circus he had seen that night. Then it was the dance show his parents took him to. Then it was his mother and father’s death. Tim Drake felt dead to the world, to himself. He had practiced dance in secret, maybe it was out of fear that he hid it, or maybe because he wanted to keep this secret passion to himself. But now, that passion was dead, gone, just like him. But he wanted so badly to have that love for dance back, if he could ask for anything it would be the return of his passion for dance.

During the time of his parent’s death, everything started to melt together and blend, it was hard to tell memories apart same with feelings. Did he care that his parents were dead? Was he happy his parents were dead? Where would he go? Fear, hatred, sadness, and happiness were all so mushed together that it was hard to tell which feeling was which. All Tim knew was that it was impossible to sleep and that crying had become inevitable. 

It had been only a few days since his parent’s funeral when he met the man who had applied for Tim’s adoption.

Bruce Wayne. The owner of Wayne enterprises and industries, a nice man who loved children. Bruce had already adopted two of his sons, Dick Grayson-Wayne (the boy he saw at the circus that night), and Jason Todd-Wayne. He was also quite rich and owned a large house not far from the Drake's residence.

When Tim first met him they were in an office of a social worker, it was scary Tim admitted in his mind. He never would in front of Bruce. The man was quite intimidating, and of course when the questions came Tim’s way he was too distracted and frightened to even look at either of the adults. The next time was a little better. They met in a park where the three of them, Tim, the Social Worker, and Bruce, all sat at a small wooden table that had been attached to the ground. There were trees above them shedding out the already dimly lit sky. The atmosphere was calmer which definitely made Tim feel better and a little more confident. Bruce talked in his low gruff voice to Tim asking him questions like what his favorite animal was, Tim actually enjoyed it quite a bit. The Social Worker jumping into the conversation from time to time to help pick it up if there was a lull.

By the time it was for them to part their own ways Tim was in fact (which even surprised himself), saddened by the idea of having to leave Bruce. So, as any child would do in that type of situation, he latched onto Bruce’s leg and refused to let go. The Social Worker had tried to pry him off of the big man then resorted to coaxing him. Tim had buried his face in the pant leg he had a hold of and whimpered. He didn’t want to lose another person. That's when he heard Bruce ask if he could foster him until the adoption could be finalized. The Social Worker was silent for a moment then said she would make a phone call and see if it was alright. When the Social Worker stepped away to take the call Bruce bent down and picked up Tim. He whispered calming things into the small-framed boy’s ear reassuring him. That night was the night Tim’s world changed forever.

There were words exchanged between the two adults that Tim couldn’t pay attention to, then a wave and they started moving. They left the park, Tim tightly held in Bruce’s arms the small boy’s head resting on the older man’s shoulder.

“Hey Tim?” Bruce asked the boy in his arms.

“Y-yes?” The boy shifted his head so that it was now in the crook of Bruce’s neck, hiding his face away from the world.

“Are you ready to meet your siblings?” he hesitated before asking the question but then let the thought go and ask the young lad.

“Siblings?” Tim questioned, he shifted his head again.

“Yes,” Bruce confirmed, a small smile coming to his face, “siblings”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dick and Jason waited eagerly by the door with Alfred the family butler, for Bruce. Their adoptive father had called earlier saying he was walking home with their new little foster brother Tim. After a while of waiting the two boys sat down on the large staircase in the main entrance and talked of what they thought their new little brother was like. Bruce had adopted Dick from the circus after the boy lost his parents in an accident, and Jason he found on the streets one night and brought the boy home later adopting him. Now there was another spot for another child in the Wayne house and Bruce took that option as soon as he heard about Tim. Social Workers basically trusted Bruce like no other with kids, he was especially good when he was fostering Dick and then Jason and at this point, the man had tried to file papers for almost every child he heard was up for adoption.

There was the jangle of keys and suddenly the door slowly opened. Alfred grabbed the handle of the door and opened it the rest of the way craning his neck so he could see the small child in Bruce’s arms. Dick and Jason bolted up and bounded down from their spots to Bruce excitedly. They immediately started asking questions about the kid Bruce was holding curious of what their soon to be brother was like. Bruce hushed them and told them their foster brother Tim had fallen asleep while they were on their walk. Alfred closed the door behind them and started to head upstairs leading Bruce to the room he had previously prepared. Bruce slowly scaled the staircase and made his way into the room, he carefully placed the young boy down then placed the sheets over him. Finally leaving the room to answer his children’s questions he glanced back into the room at the sleeping child and smiled.

End of Chapter 1


	2. The Peace Of A Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim discovers something in Wayne Manor he loves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the last chapter was kinda short! This chapter is also insanely short, I tried to make it longer and it just really didn't work out! And I also know I haven’t gotten back to the subject of the dance AU but it's put in this chapter! Also sorry this one is also pretty short. I wanted to do the time skip really bad so here you go, a chapter on how Dick is a good older brother.

Home. Tim could call Wayne Manor home now. Since the months leading up to his adoption, Tim got to know the residence quite well, along with his older brothers and the butler Alfred (who was considered as their Grandfather). In his first months at the manor, Tim adventured the building and noticed a few things. One; the manor had quite a few empty rooms and the only ones that had any signs of life were the ones they were all using. Two; there was a movie theater in the house, an inside movie theater! What could be better than that? Three could. Third on his list which he would have found to be the best part of the entire place would be, the stage.

After searching the manor for a while Tim came across a small dark room, the door ajar. He walked into the room and looked about. There was a small stage with red velvet curtains on either side of it both coated in dust. The stage itself was built out of wood and was a few feet from the floor, a small door at the front of it. The door led into a small storage area which was pitch black and (to his disappointment) filled with nothingness. There were small stone stairs to the side that led to the base of the stage where performers would stand while doing their shows. 

Tim slowly made his way up the stairs taking time to marvel at the beauty of the room. He finally made it to center stage and looked at the sea of seats which were all in neatly made rows lined next to each other perfectly as if someone had taken the time to measure out each inch. And then he felt it. A little tingle and his throat closed a tightness in his chest. The feeling of wanting.

He had wanted this. Tim had wanted this. A stage to stand on to perform his dance.   
Instinctively, as if he had done this his whole life, his bare feet moved across the dusty floor leaving marks. He closed his eyes for a moment and let the dance take over him. He went through the routine flawlessly. His hair from time to time brushing against his cheeks as he spun or changed directions. It was peaceful. The type of peace he hadn’t felt since his parent’s death. He was so attentive to the dance he didn’t even notice when Dick slipped into the room and sat himself down in the front row. 

Tim reached the end of his performance and stood in his finishing pose breathless. He raised his head a sloppy smile sprawled across his face along with beads of sweat rolling down his cheeks. 

“Wow,” Dick breathed as he watched his brother rise from the position he had stilled in, “That. Was. Amazing!” he cheered.

“Huh?!” Tim flinched as he noticed the other boy in the room.

Dick launched himself out of his seat and towards his younger sibling encasing him in a tight bone-crushing hug.

“You’re such a good dancer Timmy!” he buried his face into the younger boy’s jet black hair and held him close.

“Thanks,” Tim mumbled hoping Dick hadn’t been there for the full performance.

“You know…” Dick spoke as the two broke apart, “I did acrobatics and dance for a long time?”

Of course Tim remembers that! How could he forget the sight of the Flying Graysons? How could he forget that amazingly horrid night, the night the Flying Graysons flew no more? He fell silent, he shouldn’t say anything.

In response, Tim just nodded along as his brother continued to talk.

“We could dance together, I can show you some gymnastics while we’re at it too!” Dick shuddered with excitement at the idea of being able to show someone else part of himself, “well, only if you’d want to…” he suddenly remembered how shy the boy was and how he barely spoke to him.

“Yes!” the boy yelped in happiness, his face a new shade of pink.

“Awesome!” Dick grabbed Tim’s tiny cold hands in his own warm ones and led him out of the room.

Tim followed the older boy into another room he hadn’t been able to look in yet. A Gym. 

Mats lined the floors and four metal beams came out from the ground and faced the sky each at different ends of the room. There was an untied net underneath the poles along with some other silks and items. On another side of the room, there was a weight machine and a press bench with a large shelf of weights ranging from light to heavy to breaking Tim’s arm type of heavy. Tim turned his head away from the bench press and looked up to where the ceiling. The roof of the room was quite far from where the two boys were standing, but Tim noticed the multicolored ropes and silks hanging not too far from where they stood.

“What are those?” Tim pointed at one of the colored silks and spoke barely above a whisper.

“Oh, those?” Dick looked up at what his brother had pointed at, “those are silks for aerial, one day I’ll teach you how to do that, I think you’d like it!” he smiled down at the small boy.

Tim’s face lit up and a grin broke across his face. He couldn’t even think of being shy anymore, excitement was the only emotion he could feel. His eyes suddenly shot down at his hand which was now being taken by Dick. The older boy smiled at his younger brother, then they began to walk further into the gym.

“Don’t worry Timmy,” Dick said as they walked, “I can teach you whatever you’d like to learn!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, sorry I just realized how little of Jason is in this chapter lol. Imma try to fix that and add him in the next chapter! haha. Also, I don’t have a specific day I update just know that I update once a week. Sorry for not having a schedule!


	3. Visiting a Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting new people can be scary...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, we have finally reached the time skip and I get to introduce more characters to the story hehe. Enjoy!

Dick swung on the pole as fast as he could before launching himself onto the bright orange painted parkour course. He landed on the wooden wall in front of him with a thud, then pulled with his upper half to get to the top of it. Finally, he got up and sat down on the thin piece of wood pulling in his knees so that they were near his chin, he relaxed.

After a long day of work, Dick liked to change out of his police uniform into his workout clothes then head over to Gotham’s Dance & Arts Studio. The Studio is owned by his adoptive mom Selina Kyle, who was an actor up until her accident a few years back. This for Dick was just a way for him to blow off steam and to think.

He sighed and closed his eyes starting to spiral about work silently when he heard a familiar voice call out to him. His eyes slid open and looked towards the front entrance of the studio. A familiar redhead was standing at the front waving at him. 

“Hey, Dick!” the boy called out to him once again, “you gonna come down and say hi, or what?”

“Duh!” he called out to his friend as he quickly stood and catapulted back at the metal bar he had been on earlier, dashed across the room, and engulfed the other man in a tight hug.

“Dude, dude, dude, you’re crushing me!” he called out while patting Dick’s arm expecting a release.

“Sorry Wally,” Dick stepped back and scratched the back of his head, “I just haven’t seen you in like, forever!”

Wally looked at him with a bright smile, “Yeah, man it's been like what?” he paused to contemplate for a moment before speaking again, “three years since we last saw each other?”

Dick shrugged in response and smiled at his best friend. It’s true they haven’t seen each other in person in forever but they still did call every night with Donna (their other friend).

“Sooo, why didn’t you tell me you were dropping by Gotham?” Dick grinned at his best friend, “If you don’t have a place you can crash at mine.” he added quickly.

“Oh, thanks dude that would be great usually,” he shrugged, a lopsided grin on his face, “It's just that the family came, so, we do have a place.” he gestured with one of his hands.

“Really?” Dick smiled and raised an eyebrow, it had been quite some time since he saw them, “so, like Barry, Iris, and... Bart?” he knew how much time Bart could take up (he was a nice kid though).

Wally just nodded and mustered a little, “Yeah, them.” and sighed.

It was hard for Wally to take care of his little cousin and go to college, so Bart was usually left with Barry and Iris, his aunt and uncle. Sometimes with Max (a very old family friend). It was just that Bart, he tended to be a handful, if not two handfuls. And since Wally said the family was in Gotham, that meant he was spending a lot of time in a house with one scatterbrained uncle, and a crazy hyper little cousin.

“Uh, anyway,” Wally continued, “remember like what?” he paused to think, “six years ago when Bart met your little brother, Tim was it?”

“Oh yeah,” Dick had remembered the day he forced the little antisocial boy to meet Wally’s cousin, “what about it?” he looked at Wally quizzically.

“Well, I was thinking, so we are pretty good friends with the Kent and Sandsmark families, so they naturally know Bruce,” he shoved his hands in his sweatshirt pockets, “they came along, with us, and they have kids around both Bart’s and Damian’s ages so I figured…” he trailed off waiting for Dick to hopefully put it together.

“That they could hang?” Dick finished Wally’s sentence, both amused that he could think Tim would even talk to another kid his age, and scared because of Damian’s habits to fight with others no matter the age. “I think that could work.” He hid his true feelings towards the suggestion, it would be good for both of his brother’s anyways. 

“Great!” Wally slapped Dick on the back, “also, we should go to a bar and grab a drink sometime soon dude!”

“Sure,” Dick smiled brightly, “actually how ‘bout my place now? We could hang there and tease Donna.” he snickered, Donna hated not being in Gotham when Wally was, she called it wholly unfair.

They both laughed at each other for a moment before Dick ran into the locker room, slid on his jacket and shoes, then took off with his best friend next to him.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Come on Tim!” Jason whined at his younger sibling. Why did it have to be this hard to get Tim to socialize with kids HIS age?! This kid was way too antisocial.

“I don’t wanna,” Tim looked up from his Nintendo Switch for a second and stuck his tongue at Jason, then turned back to his game.

“Jesus Timothy,” A smaller voice spoke, clearly annoyed, “even I am going, it honestly can’t be that hard to talk to people.” Jason and Tim’s littler brother, Damian, walked into the room from the doorway.

“Yeah, come on dude,” Jason looked back at Tim who was still snuggled deep in a thick layer of blankets immersed in his video game, “if you seriously don’t think I’m not going to break that Switch and pull you from your bed, you’re entirely wrong.” 

Tim shot a displeased look at Jason before saving his game and shutting off his Switch. 

“I hate you,” he told Jason then pulled the sheets from his body, and slid out of bed. He grabbed his sweatshirt resting on the bed and exited the room.

They hopped into the car Dick driving, Jason in the passenger seat, Tim and Damian in the back. Tim plugged in his headphones and zoned out from the noise of the car, he just stared out the window examining every passing object. This afternoon was going to be terrible.

A few days prior to this event, Wally had dropped by Selina’s studio to talk to Dick. Whenever the two of them get together there always seems to be some plan to pull Tim further out of his shell. This plan was by far the most horrid of them all. He had to talk to people, his own age. 

Tim, about five or six years back decided he hated other kids. People hadn’t been especially nice to him in school, in fact, they had bullied him, been horrible to him. He honestly couldn’t believe that Dick and the others thought this could possibly be good for him. When had they been right about something being good for Tim anyway?

The car started to slow as they drove through a maze of houses. Dick had turned down the radio and Jason and him were talking now. Tim looked at Damian who was already done with the car ride, he had never liked being cooped up in small spaces for very long (hence why they couldn’t do road trips together).

The first thing Tim noticed when they pulled up to the house Barry and Iris were renting, was the cars. There were about four cars parked in the driveway and one by the curbside. There was an immediate rush of fear. How many kids were going to be there tonight?

Dick parked the car in front of the other one parked by the curbside. Before announcing their arrival.

Dick shifted in his seat to look at his brothers in the back after putting the car in park, “Okay guys, we are already a few minutes late, so please apologize for that,” Tim shifted uncomfortably in his seat, “and, I want you both to be on your best behavior, Damian no fighting with the other kids (please God don’t kill anybody), and Tim, please don’t go off on your own talk to the other kids.” Dick made eye contact with Tim. God Tim hated when he did that.

They all got out of the car, Dick and Jason grabbed the gifts from the trunk, then they started to the house.

This night was going to be horrible.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hey, Bart?” Wally called his younger cousin, “can you come here a sec?”

“Sure!” Bart called then sighed, he had been sitting with his friends Conner and Cassie when Wally called, “sorry guys I’ll be back in a sec.” 

Bart got up from the floor of the living room and headed over to the front door where Wally was waiting for him.

“Hey Wally, what did you need?” he looked up at the older man, an eyebrow raised in question.

“Okay, so you’ve met Dick, my friend, remember him?” Wally asked Bart who nodded in response, “good, well we invited his family, he has two younger brothers, one is your age so he’s gonna hang with you, cool?” He had tried to ask Bart this question earlier in the week but the kid never paid attention to what people were saying while playing a video game.  
“Yeah!” Bart cheered, “totally cool!” he reassured Wally.

That was a close call. Now all they had to do was wait for the Wayne’s to arrive and they could have a perfect night. Well, an almost perfect night.

Bart ran off back to his friends sitting on the carpet probably playing some game. Dick and his siblings were already a little late, but that was fine. Clark and Lois along with Helena and Barry were sitting down on the couch in the TV room each with a glass of wine, Iris was still in the kitchen adding the finishing touches to their upcoming dinner, which Wally was no doubt excited for.

All they needed were the last guests then the night could finally kick-off.

A few minutes later the doorbell rang, Bart, Conner, and Cassie’s heads all shot up, they stared at the door until it was open.

There in the dark stood four boys, or more correctly, two men with presents in their hands and two younger children who were not completely paying attention. Wally greeted them happily leading them into the house. 

“Bart, Conner, Cassie, come say hi!” Wally waved them over towards the four who had just entered.

The group of three made their way over to them and waved.

“Guys,” Wally started, he grabbed one of the smaller boys by the shoulder and pulled him over, “I’d like you to meet Tim!” the boy barely made eye contact and didn’t really have the energy to muster out a hello.

“Tim this is, Bart, Conner, and Cassie,” he motioned to each of them, “have fun together!” Wally left it at that before turning around to talk to Dick.

Conner, Cassie, and Bart all exchanged uneasy looks.

This night was going to be bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> …


	4. Antisocial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trying to have fun with new people is... refreshing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, so I didn’t put in a des last time I didn’t really have anything to say. Things are finally kicking off! Also, dance shall reappear soon! (in the next few chapters hopefully)! Also sorry this is a short chapter!!!

“Hi, Tim!” Bart says clearly hiding how nervous he is, “I’m Bart, but I think you already know that…” he trailed off looking at the boy in front of him.

He had jet black hair and pale paper white skin with a bright pink blush across his round cheeks, he was wearing a black long sleeve shirt with some anime character on the front of it tucked into his tight black worn jeans (which had a hole that had obviously not been on purpose). His bright red Converse were a nice contrast to the dark-themed colors he wore, in his back pocket was his iPhone with the headphones still connected, the strings of it were resting in one of his belt loops.

He was an all-around E-boy. 

The only thing Bart and the others couldn’t see at the moment were his eyes.

“So, uh, do you guys want to maybe go ditch the party and go upstairs?” Bart suggested, “maybe we could watch a movie or something?” he shrugged at the others, Tim’s head still facing the floor.

“Sure, why not,” Tim said after a moment, each of them looked at the boy in surprise, Tim finally looked up.

His eyes. They were an icy blue, not the usual blue, a different shade of blue, a brighter shade of blue.

“What?” he asked clearly annoyed, “it beats being stuck down here all night.” he shrugged.

“Let’s go then!” Bart started to leave before he turned to lead everyone upstairs.

Conner looked at Tim for a moment, ‘Damn he's beautiful…’ 

Once he was out of earshot, Cassie elbowed him bringing him out of his thoughts, “okay, what's up lover boy?” she teased him.

“Okay, tell me he's not cute?” he protested, “I mean, come on! Look at him!” he shot his hands out towards where Tim was standing with Bart near the base of the stairs waiting for them.

“Fine, he’s cute, so what?” She looked at Tim then eyed Conner, “he’s not that nice Kon.”

“Alright, but we barely even know the guy,” he looked down at his friend, “give him a chance to prove himself again.” he smiled warmly at her.

“Fine, but I don’t like him very much yet,” she started to walk away, “he really needs a big turn around to change that!” she snickered.

Conner sighed then followed. They made their way over to where Tim and Bart were standing and headed up the stairs.

“So, what do you guys wanna do?” Bart asked the group.

“I don’t really care,” Tim shrugged.

“Well, then let’s find some game or something,” Cassie turned her head to look at Bart.

Kon just rolled his eyes and sighed before leaving the group to find a board game on the shelf. It was quiet for a few moments before Kon turned and noticed Tim again.

He had pulled out his phone and was scrolling through his text messages. He looked up at the group and noticed them staring. He was afraid this group would shoot him down like all those other people had. Hopefully, Dick and the others were right and these kids would be nicer to him at the very least. He quickly looked back down at his phone and made his way over to the door with the group.

They all looked away then Conner spoke up again, “So then, are we gonna play a game or not?” he asked Tim who looked up at him puzzled. The others had already sat on the floor and were setting up the game.

“What?” he asked, “you talking to me?” He asked Conner.

“Yeah, ” He stuffed his hands into his jean pockets and leaned forwards a little, “so, you joining or n0t?” he asked Tim again.

Tim looked back down at his phone before pressing something then putting one of his headphones in, “Sure I guess?” he made his way over to the others and sat next to Bart.

He honestly felt lonely in the presence of three other people. That's not normal, people aren’t lonely with other people, right? Maybe, maybe not. That’s one of the few questions he doesn’t have an answer to. 

They had a game of SORRY! Out and were passing out the little plastic pieces. Cassie was green, Bart yellow, Conner blue, and Tim was red.

“So, I suppose you know how to play this game?” Cassie said flatly, she still wasn’t impressed by Tim.

“Oh, yeah,” Tim turned to look at her as he played with the small piece in his hands, he paused, “do none of you guys live in Gotham?” he questioned.

They all nodded in agreement. None of them other than Conner had actually been to Gotham before.

“Wow, okay then,” a small frown slid across Tim’s face.

“Now are we going to start the game or what?” Cassie piped up.

Conner shrugged and placed his pieces in his circle like the others. Then they began.

The game went oddly fast, and each time the game ended it was Tim who had won.

“Okay!” Bart yelled, “What type of sorcery are you using?!” he slapped his hands down on his head slightly flattening his poofy hair.

Tim just looked up from the game to Bart and giggled. He giggled.

Honestly, it was now one of Conner’s new favorite sounds. Bart seemed to agree.

“I’m not doing anything, just playing the game,” he answered Bart’s absurd accusation.

Conner sighed then fell back on the carpet, “Okay, I suggest we do something else since Tim here is unbelievably good at Sorry,” there it was again, the giggles.

Tim had a quiet voice, or he just wasn’t speaking full volume. There was a small knock at the door.

They all looked up to see who was opening the door, “Hey Timmers,” Dick said, “We should get goin’, Alfred is out this weekend and Bruce and Selina are at something, we left the pets at home so--.” he was cut off by a tiny angry voice from behind.

“Drake, we must leave this place at once!” a smaller child pushed aside Dick and stood in the doorway, “Collect your items and we shall go back to th--” another deeper voice cut him off.

“Dude, I have work tomorrow, and besides this place is kinda boring,” A man much taller than Dick stood behind the two boys peering into the room, “so, let’s go.”

Tim sighed then started to rise, “Bye, I’ll probably see you again because of Dick,” he pointed at his brother then waved at the group, “that was… fun.” a tiny smile rested on his face.

Then they were gone, the four of them left. Bart, Cassie, and Conner turned on a movie and cuddled up on Bart’s bed.

Bart had nestled his face into Conner’s side, “That Tim guy sure was shy,” he mumbled, “it took forever to just get him to enjoy being here.”

Cassie nodded, “Yeah, and I’m still not sure I like him, he does know it’s rude not to make eye contact right?” 

Conner just shrugged. Tim did seem to enjoy playing games with them after a little bit, maybe he was just extremely shy? It was always a possibility. He was getting deep into thought when Bart jumped up from his position and yelled at the screen, scaring everyone.

“Why the hell did you do that?” Cassie snapped at Bart who ignored her and went back to Conner’s side.

The movie continued playing all of their eyes glued to the screen, “Hey, would you guys wanna go to that dance studio place?” Bart asked, “Wally goes there to hang out with Dick sometimes maybe he could take us with?”

“Sounds fun,” Cassie turned to Bart who was still clinging to Conner’s side.

“Yeah sure, I mean we really have nothing better to do,” Conner looked down at the small brunette attached to his side and pulled him closer.

“Great, we can go with him tomorrow,” Bart mumbled happily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> … I like writing for Bart...  
> I have finals this week and I currently hate all my teachers.


	5. Ballet boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bart nudged Conner and tapped Cassie then pointed at the two that had previously been talking.
> 
> They were dancing.

Early in the morning Conner and Cassie met up then headed over to the place Bart’s family rented. They knocked on the door and waited in the cold Gotham morning air.

“Bart?” Conner yelled, “Dude are you home?” He knocked on the door one more time.

The door swung open. Bart stood in shorts and a brightly colored sweatshirt, his hair was a tangled mess and he was rubbing his eyes.

“Dude, Kon,” he said tiredly, “why’d you guys show up so early?” he yawned and waved for them to follow him inside.

Cassie plopped down on the couch and sighed, Conner sat down next to her grabbing a blanket from a nearby chair. Man Gotham is freezing in the morning! He wrapped it around his shoulders and shivered.

“You guys have had breakfast yet?” Bart asked from the kitchen behind them, his head was inside the fridge, “we got waffles!” he suggested.

“I could go for a piece of toast,” Cassie mentioned, “Conner you?” she asked him.

“Yeah, I’ll have a waffle with you Bart.” he stood up to go help his friend.

Bart and Conner prepared a small breakfast for them all, then they sat at the table and ate. Bart put an insane amount of syrup on his waffles while Cassie and Conner stared at him in disgust and horror. 

After they finished they cleaned up and waited for Bart to come back down.

There were a few bangs upstairs and then someone yelled “BART!”, then another crash and a door closing.

Cassie and Conner shot each other looks of concern. 

A second later Bart walked down the stairs dragging a half-asleep Wally behind him.

“Hey guys,” Wally grumbled before heading to the closet to grab a sweatshirt, “ready to go?” he turned to the three teenagers. They confirmed and they headed out to the car.

They all hopped into the car, Cassie in the passenger seat, Conner and Bart in the back.

They chatted the whole 45 minutes to the dance studio and until they parked the car. There in front of them stood a tall grey-ish, white-ish building. There was a large sign above the two doors that read; Gotham Dance & Arts Studio, in big white letters. The group of four walked up to the two doors then stopped.

Wally knocked on the door twice then waited for a second. The door promptly opened and there stood Dick, the man from the night before.

“Heya Walls,” Dick greeted his friend, “and hello to you three!” he smiled cheerfully at the sight of the children. He then invited them in.

“So, the kids were wondering if they could, I don’t know, play around or something?” Wally eyed the kids then shrugged.

“Sure!” then Dick paused for a second, “Hey, you guys met Tim last night right?” he turned back to the kids.

“Tim?” Bart stopped for a second, “Yeah, the shy guy!” Bart blurted out.

Conner, Cassie, and Wally all stopped and stared at him.

“Bart!” he yelled, “That’s rude!” 

“Oh, sorry!” Bart apologized quickly, “I-I just I umm.”

“It’s fine kiddo,” Dick smiled, “Tim actually gets that a lot.” he chuckled then turned and started walking again.

They walked over to a slightly padded area next to a bright orange wall. Dick pointed at the bright orange things and told them it was a parkour practice course. Then they kept going, there were poles that were used for pull-ups and gymnastics. Finally, they reached the actual padded area. This is where people practiced flips, parkour stuff, and gymnastics, sometimes even dance.

A smaller boy was walking towards them then stopped in front of Wally, “West,” he said, “Greetings, I see you have brought the children, Drake is over there with Todd practicing.” the boy pointed at two others standing farther away, then he stalked off.

“That was Damian, our little brother,” Dick chuckled, “don’t mind him, he’s always a little sour.”

Bart nudged Conner and tapped Cassie then pointed at the two that had previously been talking.

They were dancing.

The larger one picked up the smaller, it was graceful for a moment, then they stumbled and fell.

“Okay, that's it!” the smaller yelled out in frustration. He stood up and brushed himself off.

The group walked closer to the two fallen.

“You two doing okay?” Dick asked as he pulled the taller man up.

“Just great!” the smaller one said sarcastically, he quickly turned around to face Dick, “Can you please practice with me instead of Jason?” he asked.

“Sure Tim,” Dick answered.

“You’re lucky I even practiced that with you,” Jason snarled at Tim before flipping him off.

“Hey,” Dick swatted at Jason before he walked away, “Okay, then Timmy, I can do that, and you all can have fun, just please clean up after.” he smiled then pulled Tim away.

Bart immediately dashed off towards the parkour course, Cassie grabbed Conner’s hand and followed after Bart.

“Okay I seriously wasn’t expecting to see him here,” Cassie muttered under her breath.

“What?” Conner turned to her, “Still not sure if you like him?” he snapped a little harsher than he meant.

“Well, first impressions are important, and he didn’t do a good one,” She jabbed her index finger at his chest, “he has yet to prove to me he is not in fact an ass, now come on.” She waved him over to the parkour course. 

He reluctantly followed her through the maze of dips and walls in his way. They made it to the other side where Bart was (surprisingly) patiently waiting.

“What took ya so long?” Bart cocked his head to one side and smiled.

“Just loverboy here,” Cassie pointed back over her shoulder at Kon.

“Hey,” he protested.

Bart giggled and shook his head, “Of course,” Bart lifted his hand and pointed back through the way Conner and Cassie had just come, “well, we have a pretty good view of them here!”

Conner shifted to look and sure enough, “Wow, did you do that just for this reason?” Conner looked back at his friend.

“Shush, I wanna watch.” Bart was staring at the two boys again.

Great now we’re gonna be stalkers. Kon frowned, this was not okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I had finals and then I was stuck with family. Everyone happy holidays since I forgot to say it earlier!!! So I’m super sorry about such a short update and how this is also most likely really late!!! Happy Holidays everyone!!!


	6. Practice Makes Perfect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim is still a tad bit too shy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope you all have a wonderful 2021!

Everything was disastrous. First, Tim woke up in a terrible mood, maybe all that socializing at that party made him sick or something. Second, Jason completely  _ ruined _ Tim’s dance practice by dropping him at least seven times. Third, Damian was being an asshole (what’s new?). And last but not least, fourth…

The kids from the party. They showed up at Selina’s dance studio. Of course they did, they’re Wally’s cousin’s friends.

He was already pissed off that he had to wake up this morning, now this?

_ Great _ .

Tim sighed and took a step back, “Wow, this dance is just  _ not _ going well.” he plopped down on the floor.

“Hey, it could be worse,” Dick slowly made his way next to Tim.

“How so?” he glared up at Dick.

“Uhh, well, you know what I mean.” He scratched the back of his head.

“No, no I  _ really _ don’t.” Tim snapped.

“Whatever it doesn’t matter, just come and get me when you’re ready to practice again.” Dick walked off the mats in Wally’s direction.

“ _ Thanks _ ,” Tim muttered.

Tim sat alone on the mats for a second longer before getting up and turning to his phone. Looking at his music library and seeing what he could find would have been nice if he didn’t feel eyes boring into the back of his head. Tim swiveled to see who was staring at him and almost smashed his arm into Wally’s cousin.

“Whoa there!” He giggled.

“Ah!” Tim exclaimed, “S- sorry, are you okay?” the other boy had taken a few steps back putting distance between them.

“Yeah, I’m fine!” the boy smiled, “Oh, yeah, we met the other day!” he held out his hand for Tim to shake, “Tim, right?”

He nodded and took the boy’s hand, “Sorry, you are…?” Tim raised an eyebrow.

“Bart!” Bart smiled and shook Tim’s hand excitedly, “Nice ta meet ya,” he paused then added, “again.”

Tim smiled... slightly, “Yeah, nice to see you again.”  _ That was a total lie. _

“Lemme get the others!” Bart slipped his hand out of Tim’s and headed over to the parkour course.

_ Oh. Oh no. I do not need to socialize anymore than I already have today. _ Tim just stood and watched as Bart ran over to his friends then dragged them towards Tim.

This day was not going as planned. Not at all.

The other two people, the salty blonde and tall black-haired boy from the other night made their way over to him.

“Hey again,” The blonde waved to Tim, “I’m Cassie, from the other night?”

Tim nodded silently watching the two.

The taller boy smiled, “Hey, I’m Kon,” he paused then added, “or Connor.”

Tim placed his phone on the floor then looked back up at the others, “Yeah, I’m uh, Tim,” he paused, “but I think you already know that bit…” he trailed off. 

There was a lull. Everyone trying to find out what to say next to keep the conversation going. 

“Thanks for having me the other night,” Tim spoke just above a whisper, “I had… fun.” he looked away from the group.

“Of course dude!” Bart slapped Tim on the back, “You were freaky good at SORRY!, like what the heck?” Bart took a breath before continuing “Are you sure you aren't a sorcerer?” 

“Um, yes?” Tim looked at Bart quizzically, “I’m just good at SORRY I guess?”

Kon barked a laugh at that, “Yeah, okay,” he took a step closer, “King of SORRY, huh?”

“Uhh, okay then?” Tim chuckled then immediately covered his mouth. No way was he gonna make a fool of himself in front of strangers, “Sorry, I should go practice, my dance, bye.”

He turned and walked away. As far as he could get before someone spoke.

“Babybird, you wanna practice again with me, or are you just being salty?” Jason piped up just as Tim bumped into him.

“Oh god no,” Tim muttered, “what is it Jay?” he looked up at his brother.

“What?” he questioned, “Nothing, just asking if you’re done with your morning bitterness.”

“What did you just say?” Tim snapped, “I’m not bitter Jay, maybe I just sound like that because you dropped me about a hundred times.” he crossed his arms.

“Wow, if you want to be mean to someone and still have someone be nice to you, find Goldie.” Jason snapped.

“Whatever,” he uncrossed his arms, “let’s get this over with.” Tim turned and waved for Jason to follow.

******************************************************************************************

“Well, I guess he really doesn’t want to hang out,” Bart watched as Tim walked up to his brother, “okay, maybe he was more than shy. Cassie maybe you were right?” he turned back to his friends.

Cassie nodded and sighed, “I thought he was doing better but, I thought wrong, obviously.” she motioned towards the two brothers who were now talking.

“Well, maybe- maybe you were only, slightly right,” Kon held up a finger to protest, “maybe he’s too shy to show his, uh, kindness?” he shrugged.

“Well, then we force it out of him with our own, right?” Bart asked, “Kill em’ with kindness, type of thing?” 

“Yeah, I guess we can do that,” Cassie grumbled, there was no way she was getting past Bart on this.

“Okay, so what are we waiting for?” Kon turned to Cassie.

“We, Kon, are waiting for Tim there to finish bitching so we can ask him if  _ he  _ wants to hang out.” Cassie snapped back at him.

“Woah there, I didn’t say anything to get ya’ upset, did I?” Kon rose his hands in surrender.

Cassie sighed and put a finger to her temple, “Sorry Kon, I didn’t get a great sleep last night,” she looked back up at Kon, “that is not an excuse, but it’s an explanation.”

Kon just manhandled her into a hug, “It’s alright, I get it we all have bad days,” Cassie squeezed his arm, “I just hope that your bad day ends soon.”

“Agreed.” Cassie looked up at her friend.

“Ah!” Bart exclaimed, “A hug group without me in it? Outrageous!” Bart smashed himself into his two friends and grinned.

“Uff, Bart!” Cassie whined, “You’re crushing me!”

“Take it in!” Kon laughed loudly.

They stayed in “Hug Formation” (as Bart calls it), for about two more minutes before breaking.

“We shall get him to hang out with us!” Bart raised a fist to the sky.

“Ha, yeah okay Shakespeare,” Kon wrestled Bart into a side hug, “let’s see if we can accomplish that mission, yeah?” he rustled Bart’s hair.

“Yes!” Bart exclaimed, “We shall!”

Cassie joined them and smiled along with them, “Sure, let's see if he’s all shy or just an ass.”

Kon chuckled and they walked towards the parkour course again, “We shall Bart, we shall.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had wonderful holidays and I wish you a happy new year!


	7. To Finish and Start Anew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Start to open up, like a flower. Maybe even start to bloom a little. Think outside your regular comfort zone, maybe you'll find something new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listened to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY1g7hF7CyE & amp; https://www.youtube.com/watchv=KLiDcbN9YNY while writing. They’re nice to relax and write to :)
> 
> Actual notes at the end of the chapter :D

Tim seriously did not want to practice with Jason again. If he didn’t agree to practice with Jason and told him to piss off instead, he wouldn’t be upset while dancing. If he didn’t, well, that would be a look of cold glares across the kitchen table.

The point is. Tim’s disappointed, even though they are getting way farther in the dance than before. He's still just… upset? Is that the emotion he’s feeling right now, or is it something else?

He seriously cannot put a finger on it. It’s probably something between the two of them. Some weird mushy feeling. Not the kind you get when you are totally falling for someone, but the gross type of mushy. The type that makes you want to throw up everything inside yourself.

Oh, that's it. 

Guilt.

Guilt… Why is it guilt? Why does he feel guilty right now? What's this all about? Tim spiraled before stumbling out of a pirouette and falling flat on his face.

_ Crap _ .

“Really baby bird?” Jason laughed, “You’re the one to fall? After such a good go?” he reached his hand down for Tim to grab.

He turned over and gladly accepted his hand and was pulled to his feet in a matter of seconds.

“Okay, I just tripped and fell out of my pirouette, so what?” he gave Jason a half-smile.

“Alrighty,” Jason walked over to Tim’s phone and reset the music, he reached his hand towards Tim, “shall we?”

Tim huffed in amusement, “We shall.” he grabbed Jason’s outstretched hand and was pulled into a spin.

He still had a slight mushy feeling in his stomach. He maybe felt guilty for ditching those nice kids back there, or for doubting his brother’s ability to actually complete a dance without screwing it up.

He’s pretty sure it's the first one. Honestly, those guys were just trying to be nice, and he could see it too. They were making an effort. An effort to befriend an outsider they obviously weren’t comfortable with the other night.

Tim was thinking so hard he almost missed the beginning of Gymnopédie No. 1. He immediately slipped back into reality and began dancing. He seriously couldn’t screw this up again, could he? That was something Jack and Janet Drake (his birth parents), would have had his head over. If he got anything below a 90% he was in deep shit. And now? Messing up became something he couldn’t do without almost losing it.

And suddenly Gymnopédie No. 1, reached its end.

_ How? When? How is it that I am already in my final pose? When did that happen?  _

He really didn’t know when that happened. The song ended and all he could hear was his heart pounding in his ears.  _ Strange. _

“That,” Jason began, “that was the best one yet.” he breathed.

Tim slowly came out of his position, “Yeah, yeah I guess it was.” he paused to look down at his hands, then his feet.

Checking if he was still stationed on the ground or if he was suddenly floating away.

After a moment he looked up and out at the parkour course. There were the three musketeers staring in awe at him, like he had just performed the most amazing magic trick ever. It was kinda creepy to have eyes on him but at the same time not _horrible._

_ Huh, maybe attention isn’t all that bad. _ He stood and watched them from afar for a moment. Dick walked up to Tim and patted him on the shoulder.

“Dami and I caught that one!” He smiled happily, “That was amazing Timmy, Jay you too, great job.” he pulled them both into a bone-crushing hug.

“Let go, Goldie,” Jason protested, “it surely wasn’t  _ that _ amazing.”

Tim wriggled himself free and slowly made his way back to his phone and checked it just in case. The song really was over.  _ How? _

“Hey, Dick?” Tim turned to his eldest brother, “Next time can you make a recording? I want to see if there’s anything I can improve on.”

Dick paused and frowned, “Yeah, sure Timmy, but just so you know, you two did it flawlessly, there really isn’t anything that needs improvement.”

Tim nodded but still asked again, “Just make one next time alright?” he watched as Dick nodded, “Thanks.” he paused then went back to his phone.

He was still confused about how he missed the entire dance, even though  _ he _ was one of the  _ dancers _ . That was truly something that baffled him. Dancing a dance, but you can’t even recall any of it.  _ Strange _ .

******************************************************************************************

Bart, Kon, and Cassie watched. Watched as Tim and his brother nailed it. A beautiful piano began playing and both boys snapped into motion.

Their movements were graceful, following the calming music. And then suddenly, it was over.

Tim and Jason stiffened in their positions. They had finished the dance. It was like watching dance on Broadway, it stuns you, or maybe it’s just because they had only met Tim as a shy boy who avoided the world. Yeah, it's probably that one.

Dick quickly passed by them to head over to Tim and Jason.

“Honestly, I never thought I’d see him finish that dance.” Damian mused as he walked up to the group.

“What how?” Bart immediately questioned him, “Don’t you have  _ any _ faith in him?”

“No,” Damian answered sternly, “Drake is a  _ nuisance _ , you don’t know him like I do.”

“Well, we’d like to,” Cassie hopped in. Kon just nodded along with what she was saying. Hopefully, it would get them somewhere.

“Well then,” Damian crossed his arms in annoyance, “go talk to him and tell him that.”

He obviously did not get the memo. 

They were  _ trying _ to do that, but Tim really did not like the idea. Every time they tried to talk to him, it ended in a sort of awkward way that left both parties feeling weird. And the group? Well, they just really felt unwanted at that point. 3 times is supposed to be the charm right? What  _ could  _ be the harm in trying to befriend Tim once more? Nothing right?

Nothing, Kon decided.

A hand landed on his shoulder softly, and Kon  _ totally _ did not jump out of his skin. No, he  _ totally  _ reacted like a mature teenager.

“Dude,” Bart giggled at Kon. So what if he just freaked out over someone coming up behind him. He had every right to.

“Oh, sorry about that!” Dick said cheerfully, “I was just wondering if you all would want to come for dinner at our place tonight?”

Kon paused, Cassie visibly froze, and Bart practically started vibrating.

“YES!” Bart squealed with excitement, “What do you guys think?” he dashed to Conner’s then Cassie’s side, hopping up and down as he did.

“Uh, sure?” Kon answered. Lois would murder him if he didn’t take the opportunity, “Lemme just text Lois.” he departed to go find where he had left his phone.

“I can tell Wally!” Bart exclaimed.

“He already knows Bart,” Dick chuckled, “don’t worry about nagging him, I already did that.”

“Yeah, okay,” Cassie started to release some tension, “um, I’m going to go text my mom then.” and with that, she was off.

Jason ambled over and immediately rested his head on Dick’s shoulder.

“Hey there Jaybird,” Dick sunk a hand into Jason’s messy hair.

Jay simply hummed in response. He was visibly worn out. And Bart hadn’t noticed it before, but Jason had a white section of hair at the front of his head.  _ Wonder what that's from _ , Bart pondered.

Kon returned first, phone in hand, “I told her, and she said it’s fine.” he told Dick. Dick gave a thumbs up and smiled still petting Jason’s hair.

Cassie was next. She walked over and smiled before saying, “My mom says it’s fine if I hang.”

“Yay!” Dick cheered (Jason was obviously annoyed by this), “Oop, sorry Jaybird.” 

Wally came up from behind Dick, “You all check with your parents?” he asked. The kids all nodded, “Good.”

“Alrighty, I’ll go get Dami and Timbourine so we can get going!” Dick started to leave, then decided to drag Jason along with him.

“Well then,” Wally turned to the three teens, “look, please be on your best behavior, I get that they are practically family to me, but still, be nice n’ stuff,” he paused, “manners.” he eyed Bart as he said that last part.

“Aye aye captain!” Bart saluted. Wally sighed. This was going to be a rough night for him, he could already tell.

******************************************************************************************

“Alright Timbo,” Dick skipped over to him, “get your stuff, and let's get goin’!”

“Wait, what?” Tim looked at Dick quizzically, “Why are we leaving? It's only…” he paused to look down at his phone, it was currently 5:00 PM, closing time, “nevermind.” he turned to grab his water bottle.

Jason stood next to him, grabbing his water and phone as well. They were going to get home, take showers, change, and eat Alfie’s delicious dinner. That  _ was _ Tim’s plan  _ before _ he knew about the special guests.

“Sooo Timmy,” Dick started, “ _ we _ are going to be having some guests over tonight.” Tim practically snapped his neck 360°.

“What?” he questioned his brother, there was no way  _ his  _ plans were going to be ruined.

“Well, Wally’s coming over,” he hesitated before finishing, “and he’s bringing the kids.”

Wally was fine. He was basically family at this point, but Kon, Cassie, and Bart? Not. Even. Close. Tim barely knew them, and now they were coming over to their house? No. No. No. Not happening!

“No,” he stated.

“What do you mean no?” Dick pressed, “They are coming over whether you like it or not, Tim they want to get to  _ know _ you, they want to be  _ friends _ with you!” he protested.

But why? Why would anyone want to be friends with him? With Tim? Tim the loser? Tim the one who was even ignored by his own parents? Tim, who was so silent it was as if he didn’t exist?

Everyone but his family  _ hated _ Tim, and now some strangers want to befriend him?  _ What. In. The. World. Is. Happening? _

“ _ Please _ Tim, just give them a chance.” Dick pleaded.

It was variable he really didn’t want to take a chance on, but Dick had  _ never _ lied about something like this. He wouldn’t. Although he did lie about who climbed the Christmas tree that one year…

“Fine,” Tim answered after a moment.

“Oh Timbers!” Dick scooped him up into a big hug, “You won’t regret it!”

_ Hopefully, he won’t. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowies, two chapters in one day (even though it's currently 11:24 where I am)! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I will hopefully have the motivation to finish another chapter sometime next week or this weekend. Everything for me is starting back up again so, I will have less time to work on this :(  
> I will try to get as much done as I can so that I can post the next few chapters soon!  
> Thanks for tuning in!
> 
> My Tumblr: https://lactish.tumblr.com/


	8. Meet New Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was relaxed, despite the fact that a group of strangers who wanted to be friends with him, were in his house. Still, he was more relaxed than he had been all day.
> 
> Maybe Dick would give up and leave him be. That probably wouldn’t happen, can’t hurt to be hopeful once in a while, can it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this time I listened to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-IaJiy0jrM  
> Enjoy this Chapter!   
> Small TW: Mention of antidepressants and anxiety being a cause of sickness.  
> (Real notes at end of the chapter).

Tim shoved his stuff into the back of the car. He was pissed, or annoyed, one of the two. Maybe both, who knows?

“Oo!” Jason stopped before opening the passenger's side door, “Can I drive? Pleaseee?” He looked at Dick with puppy eyes.

“Nope!” Dick answered cheerily, “I do not want you totaling my car,  _ again _ .” he jangled his keys and opened all the doors with a click, “Hmm, wait where's Damian?” he looked around.

“I am present Grayson,” Damian walked up to the trunk of the car, his duffel bag over his shoulder, “I am simply putting away my items.”

“Oh, okay,” Dick smiled and climbed into the front seat.

Tim was about to rush to the other available front seat when Jason slid into it, “Sorry Baby Bird, looks like you and demon spawn are sittin’ together.”

Tim sighed, this was  _ not _ at all how he had planned his night. Tim sat down behind Dick in the backseat. From where they had parked Tim could see Wally ushering the other teens into his car. Damian finally clambered into the other seat next to Tim and strapped himself in. Then they waited for Wally and the others to give them the ‘We’re ready!’ signal. A few minutes passed before Wally stuck his hand out of the car in a thumbs up.

Dick then started to drive. Jason paid no attention to anyone else in the car as he turned on Beyonce.

“Seriously Jay?” Tim’s voice was laced with annoyance.

“What?” Jason turned to look at Tim “She’s a good singer, besides,  _ you _ all have  _ very _ uncultured music tastes.” 

Both Dick and he gasped at that remark, “Wait,” Dick said, clearly baffled by this new information, “You are saying that  _ Tylor Swift _ ’s music is uncultured?”

“Um, yes?” Jason answered matter of factly. This definitely started a new grudge against Jason for Dick and Tim.

Tim had a few grudges he was not going to let go of with Jason. One of them was the time he almost killed him by dropping a light fixture on him.  _ That  _ he was  _ never _ going to let go. 

They fought the whole way home about what good  _ cultured _ music is compared to uncultured. My Chemical Romance was one of the cultured music decisions as well as The Neighbourhood.

(Author's note: I recommend them both!)

They reached Wayne Manor’s gates at the peak of their argument, disregarding the stunning displays of flowers and plants that they passed by. Finally, the height of the argument was over, still, as they all slid out of the car there were a few remarks thrown at each other. (Damian surprisingly stayed silent the whole time). 

Wally’s car pulled up behind theirs and the kids were obviously astonished by both the Manor and the gardens that surrounded them. Tim saw them get out of the car and wasted no time in grabbing his stuff and running to the front door. 

Dick took his sweet time making it to the front, talking with Wally and chatting with the other kids. Once he reached the door he fumbled with his keys for a second before finding the right one and unlocking it.

Tim immediately dashed inside, kicking off his shoes at the front.

“Alfie, we’re home!” Jason hollered.

The group of teens watched Jason with interest as he yelled out into what seemed like nothingness. 

Suddenly a reply came, “Why, you and the other young sirs are quite  _ late _ tonight.” it seemed like a man’s voice which had an English accent.

“Sorry, Alfie!” Jason yelled again, “Did Dickie Bird tell you we have guests tonight?” he asked.

“Well, of course, master Jason.” A tall grey-haired man appeared at the top of one side of the large marble staircase, “Master Bruce will hopefully make his way down to say hello to you all.” he turned his attention to the group of teenagers and Wally, “Ah, Mr. West, it is a pleasure to see you as always.” 

“Same to you Mr. Pennyworth,” Wally answered smiling.

“Please, Mr. West, Alfred is just fine,” the man had a warm smile come across his face as Wally nodded in understanding.

“So, uh, our dad will maybe come down to say hi if he remembers we have guests over today,” Dick trotted over to the group, “Oh, and Tim and the rest of us are going to take showers, if any of you want to rinse off as well, we have some guest rooms you guys can use.”

“Oh no, Dick, that’s fine, they didn’t do too much running around today… gladly.” Wally put his hand out to shush Dick.

Dick instead took his hand and held it in his, a small smile finding its way onto his face. Wally smiled as well then put their hands down to their sides, still intertwined.

“Now that I think about it, disappointment over there really does  _ smell _ ,” Damian shot a look of disgust over his shoulder at Jason, “well, I am going to take a shower, Titus!” the sudden noise of a dog running rang through the house.

“Oop,” Dick put his open hand up to the side of his face, “I forgot to mention we have dogs,” he paused, “and an assortment of other animals.” he turned to the other kids.

“To be exact we have, a turkey, a cow, two dogs, and a cat.” Damian huffed as he started to walk up the stairs.

“Wait,” Wally looked over at Dick, “since when did you guys get a  _ cow _ ?” 

“Um, I’m actually not completely sure, it just kinda appeared one day.” he shrugged.

Dick then led them over to the lounge area and told them to get comfortable before he left to take a shower. Dick gave Wally a little hug before he let go of his hand and headed to take a shower.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The group all sat in the room quietly. The house was  _ huge _ . Wally had  _ not _ told them about the fact the place was a literal mansion, sure he said their house was big but not this big!

The floorboards creaked anytime one of them moved. The house was fairly old and fairly  _ creepy _ . Most of the architecture in Gotham was creepy so this honestly was less creepy compared to the other stuff. The house probably had a warm feeling to the residents but to newcomers, it was intimidating. 

In the room, they were currently occupying there were two couches and two plush leather chairs, plus a small TV and bookshelf. All of the furniture was quite old and worn out yet was still warm and comfy after so many years. This was the room Dick had said was the den.

The couches were covered with fluffy looking blankets and plush pillows. The room looked like it had been frequently used, posters littered the walls and the bookshelf was filled to the brim with worn-out books and VHS tapes. The room overall had a quite calming atmosphere.

Kon perked up, he could hear the faint sound of classical music playing softly in the background and shuffling. The door to the den slowly creaked open.

“Yo,” Jason said in greeting as he walked into the room. He had a pair of glasses perched on his nose and was wearing baggy clothes, his hair looked as though someone had ruffled it.

He made his way over to the bookshelf and started tracing the spines of the books. They all were worn out copies with obvious signs of continuous use. He finally stopped at one book. It was smaller than most of the other books and was colored red, the text on the spine of the book was yellow. He paused to think before pulling the book off the shelf, he then proceeded to sit next to Wally on the couch and begin reading. The guy was six foot and had scars and a white strip of hair. Kon bent down and tried to see what had chosen to read.

It was a  _ very _ old copy of  _ The Catcher in the Rye _ , a book written by some person called J.D. Salinger, someone he had never heard of before. The book though was one of Lois’s favorites, she had talked about it endlessly. Reading had never really been something he liked, but maybe one day he  _ will _ read it just like Lois had suggested.

“So, last time I saw you, Jay you were reading that book,” Wally looked over at the boy, “you never finish it or you just like it enough to go back to it?”

Jason looked up at Wally, “Oh, it was my uh, my mother’s favorite book when I was younger,” his face was solemn, “I like it, it’s very different from a usual book and very enjoyable.” he looked back down and bobbed his head before going silent again.

Wally nodded and looked over to Bart instead. Bart had been very intrigued by the VHS tapes earlier and pulled some from the shelf to look at. He was holding a Sailor Moon VHS when the door opened again. This time both Dick and Tim walked in.

Jason grunted as a hello while everyone else actually used words.

“So whatcha guys up to?” Dick leaned against the couch near Wally.

“Hey, I was wondering if we could watch this?” Bart stood up and pointed at the Sailor Moon VHS in his hand.

“Oh!” Dick gasped, “Yes, I love that movie!” he rushed over to Bart and plucked it out of his hand.

He walked over to the TV and pulled the tape out of its plastic box, then he slid it into the slot in the TV. The screen flickered then came to life, he pressed a few buttons and the tape went back to the beginning.

“Here, Imma go get Timmy so you all can watch with him,” before anyone could protest Dick was out the door.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After his shower, Tim had put on a long sleeve black shirt and some tattered black jeans he had lying around. He then plopped himself down on his bed and stared at the ceiling.

He was relaxed, despite the fact that a group of strangers who wanted to be friends with him, were in his house. Still, he was more relaxed than he had been all day.

Maybe Dick would give up and leave him be. That probably wouldn’t happen, can’t hurt to be hopeful once in a while, can it?

And then his door opened, and Dick stepped through, “Heya Baby Bird,” he greeted Tim, “we all are going to watch that Sailor Moon VHS, can you come to join us?” he walked over to Tim’s bed and sat himself down next to one of his legs.

“I don’t want to,” Tim stated.

“I understand that,” Dick started rubbing Tim’s shin, “I really do, I didn’t want friends for a long time since they were, well, mean to me,” he turned to look at Tim, “but, eventually I made friends with Barbra, look these kids want to be friends with you, just try it please?”

Tim sighed, there was no way he was going to get out of this. He could either be dragged there by Dick and be shamed by his brothers, or he could be an adult and stop complaining and just go himself. Both options were things he wanted to avoid as much as possible.

He groaned and pushed himself up and off the bed. He walked over to his closet and snatched a large hoodie. Then he sild it on and walked with Dick down the hall to the den.

The room was filled with people occupying most of the furniture. Jason was reading.  _ Perfect _ .

Tim plopped himself down on top of Jason who immediately screamed.

“GET OFF OF ME ASSHOLE!” Jason protested.

“Nope, no thank you,” Tim rested his head on his brother’s shoulder, “I am perfectly comfortable where I am right now.”

Jason grumbled before shifting and placing his book down, “So, what are we watching?”

“Sailor Moon!” Dick said happily as he unpaused the TV and the tape began to play.

Dick squeezed himself onto the couch between Wally, Jason, and Tim. If Dick and Wally held hands no one noticed, it was between them. Jason huffed and put an arm around his younger brother, he knew how bad Tim’s anxiety was and how bad it could get. He had been the lucky one to wake up to a stressing little brother who puked over stress. That was a  _ wonderful _ day.

Luckily, they didn’t have to put Tim on antidepressants or any meds. Neither Tim nor the rest of the family wanted that for him. And maybe this night was going better than Tim  _ had _ planned, he was with his brothers, a family friend, some not so family friends, and he was watching Sailor Moon. Tim let out a breath and relaxed, everything was going okay for now, and hopefully, it would be okay for the rest of the night.

_ And for some odd reason, Sailor Moon really helps. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that entire Sailor Moon VHS thing is based on a huge part of my life lol. My grandparents have a VHS TV they kept and I love it so much. Also, I had hoped to have this chapter done earlier but I got a fever which sucked, so I apologize for that! Please take care of yourself! Stay hydrated and stay safe!
> 
> My Tumblr: https://lactish.tumblr.com/


	9. This isn’t so bad, or is it?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe friends aren’t as bad as they seem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello, I currently am dealing with a fever and that is why it has taken a while to get this up! Like last time, I had hoped to get this chapter up earlier than this but my fever has really been taking a toll on me. My apologies! This chapter is just a little bit of self-projection.  
> Enjoy!
> 
> TW: mentions of puking/actual puking, and mentions of past bullying.
> 
> (More notes at the end of the chapter)

The movie went by pretty fast. Sailor Moon transforming back and forth a few times, her disappointment of a love life, and her adorable cat were the most memorable moments of the film.

Jason a little less than halfway through the movie became a  _ very _ uncomfortable pillow, and Tim was not about to try to break free of cuddles. Dick throughout the entire movie couldn’t stop whispering to Wally, both of them were way too immersed in their own conversation to pay any attention to the screen.

And then, the film finally ended, and Bart screeched.

“How?!” he pointed at the TV in frustration, “How does she do that?!” 

“Do what Bart?” Cassie crossed her arms over her chest.

“What do you mean ‘ _ do what?’, _ turn into a magical lady!” Bart turned to Cassie, “I wanna be a magical person too!” he whined.

That immediately got a laugh out of Jason, “Y’know, when we first got that tape when Dick and I were younger,” he shook his head in embarrassment, “we both terribly wanted to be Sailor Moon.”

Tim burst out laughing, Wally joining in as well.

“No wait,” Wally wiped a tear from his face, “you  _ both _ wanted to be Sailor Moon?” he cackled.

“Yes, yes, we did,” Dick giggled, “hold up,” he pulled out his phone, “I think we have videos of it somewhere.” he began scrolling through his photo library.

“What?!” Jason’s head snapped in Dick’s direction, “No! Do  _ not _ show those to  _ anyone _ !” he reached for Dick’s phone only to get swatted at.

Tim had to force himself to stand up without falling flat on his face laughing. He wasn’t even laughing at this point, he was  _ wheezing _ .

“Okay, okay, wait-” Tim balanced himself against a wall, “you what? You wanted to  _ be _ Sailor Moon?” his face was flushed red when he turned to look at Jason then immediately wheezed again.

“Aha!” Dick jumped out of his seat, “Here it is folks!” he held out his phone for everyone to see.

On the screen there was a picture of a tiny Jason wearing a puffy pink skirt and standing on the kitchen table, he looked like he was screaming at someone off-camera. Wally and Tim choked.

“Oh my god,” Wally breathed, “I remember when you were that  _ tiny _ !”

Tim wheezed, this was  _ by far _ the best thing he had seen in like five years. Tiny Jason in a tutu standing on a table screaming. That was the definition of perfection.

“You asshole!” Jason snatched the phone and grumbled something under his breath. He then took off down the hall with Dick’s phone.

“Wait!” Dick chased after him, “We can compromise!”

Wally followed them shortly. The sounds of three (basically) adults running through the house rang down the halls.

And now, as Tim realized maybe a little too late. He was alone, with the other three.

Bart, Kon, and Cassie exchanged looks as Tim practically froze up on the spot. His shoulders and body went rigid.

“Hey, so that was an  _ awesome _ movie, yeah?” Bart walked over and nudged Tim with his elbow.

Tim hummed in response, still tense.

“Is there a second one?” Kon stepped up and asked.

Tim thought for a second before walking back over to the bookshelf, shoved between it and one of the couches was a few old boxes. Tim hauled one of the boxes out from the small space and quickly looked through it before pulling out another VHS.

“Here,” he handed Kon the tape, “it might have to be rewinded though.”

“Cool,” Kon nodded and walked over to the TV and slid the VHS into the little slot. He waited for a moment before the screen lit up again, he pressed the rewind button before starting the film.

Bart quickly ran to turn the lights off then sat down on the couch opposite Tim. Cassie joined Bart shortly after the film was ready to be played.

Kon pressed the start button and jogged over to where Tim was sitting and plopped down right next to him.

_ Tim. Was. Internally. Losing. His. Shit. _

Would he say anything about the proximity of Conner? No. Would he say that he was extremely freaked out by how someone  _ wanted  _ to be close to him? No. Was he still going to quietly lose his shit? Absolutely.

It was so weird to have people  _ want  _ to be around him. At school, he got bullied. At home (sometimes) his brothers wanted to kill him (not Dick). And anywhere else, he was completely ignored. So why, why, the  _ hell _ would people want to be friends with  _ him? _ It wasn’t like he was especially nice or great at something, so why did these people find him interesting?

The quiet white noise of the TV was definitely helping. But of course, that lasted only a few minutes.

Bart was practically vibrating by the time he finally blurted out something, “So, did you also grow up with Sailor Moon or just your brothers? Do you know when dinner is? Y’know I think Wally likes your brother Dick? Can we play a board game later? Do you like monopoly, or how's about Candy Land? Do you guys have a gym? I heard you guys have a gym.”

“Bart, dude,” Kon put out a hand while he shushed Bart, “you are bombarding Tim with questions, why don’t you take a breath n’ calm down a Lil?”

“Oh, okay.” Bart pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his head on them, slightly rocking back and forth.

“Um, yes, I-I did grow up with these tapes, no I don’t know when dinner is, sure to the board game thing, we do have a gym, and I do like monopoly,” Tim’s stomach was in knots and he was sure he was sweating, “also, I think Dick likes Wally as well, they are just idiots.”

It went quiet for a moment before Bart hopped up and off the couch singing, “I knew it! I knew it!”

Tim hesitantly raised an eyebrow, “What?” he asked quietly.

“Oh,” Bart turned to him, “just that my cousin Wally is stupid and so is your brother,” he took a breath before coming to sit next to Tim, “I mean, it's kinda obvious right?”

Tim giggled a little and nodded. It really was  _ super  _ obvious, Dick was just a complete idiot, and apparently Wally as well. It was dumb it really was. All those times he had seen Wally and Dick hang out together, they both had those stupid smiles on their faces.

Maybe this night wasn’t going as terrible as he thought it was.

Cassie turned the light on and walked over to them, “Please don’t tell me that the oldest people in this house, not including Alfred and your dad, are  _ this  _ oblivious.”

“Yes, yes they are,” Bart said matter-of-factly.

“Hey, well at least it's not  _ my _ cousin Kara,” Kon turned to the group, “she's even  _ more  _ oblivious than Dick and Wally.”

Bart stared at him with his mouth open, “Elaborate.”

“Ok, well, this guy she works with legit, asked her out like,  _ ‘Hey would you like to go get dinner or something sometime soon?’ _ and she just responded with  _ ‘Oh, sorry I can’t tonight.’  _ Then like a week later she came over for dinner at our place and we were talking and she told Lois,” “Lois, and I am not joking, grabbed her hands and said  _ ‘You do know that guy was asking you out, on a date right?’ _ , and apparently no, no she didn’t.”

Tim snorted, “Sorry, sorry,” he said in-between breaths, “how? How could she not pick up on that?” he broke into a fit of laughter.

“I don’t know,” Kon giggled, “I seriously don’t know!”

They all were wheezing by the time Jason walked back into the room, “Whoa you okay there?” he raised an eyebrow.

Tim shot up and immediately tried to wipe the grin off his face, he failed to do so but he did manage to ask when dinner was.

“Yeah, I was just about to tell you to come down,” Jason smiled then waved for them to follow him downstairs.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The group slowly made their way down the old creaky steps and followed Jason and Tim to a large room with huge windows and a fireplace.

Above the fireplace was a painting of a small boy and his parents, his mother wore beautiful pearls and a nice dark blue dress while his father wore a nice jet black suit with a fancy tie. They were all smiling and looked quite happy. Around the fireplace were some comfortable looking chairs with a small coffee table in the middle, two humongous bookshelves resided on each side of the room, both were filled to the brim with books.

Again, why didn’t Wally tell them that this house was  _ this _ big?

“Hello there,” a large man made his way over to the group of teens, “I’m Bruce Wayne, Tim’s father.” he held out one of his large hands for a shake.

Conner took it and smiled as he introduced himself and the others.

The group then walked over to the large dining room table (which had way too many seats for just them) and sat down.

Shortly after about five other people filed into the room, Dick and Wally were among them.

“Gasp!” Dick said while he put a hand over his mouth, “We  _ need _ to do introductions!” he pulled out his chair and sat down, Wally pulled out the one next to him.

“Okay, first off, I am Dick Grayson Wayne, you already know me!” Dick pointed to himself then at Jason.

“Fine, Jason Todd Wayne, you also all know me.” he sighed before pulling out  _ The Catcher in the Rye _ to read. Dick then pointed to the boy sitting next to him.

“Hi, I’m Duke Thomas Wayne” he sighed then pointed at the girl next to him, “this one is Cassandra Cain Wayne.”

From across the table, Damian huffed, “And  _ I _ am Damian _Wayne_ ," he paused before looking over at Tim "Timothy, you shall speak now.”

Tim muttered something under his breath, “I’m Tim Drake Wayne.” he said with no enthusiasm, complete with jazz hands.

The group giggled a little before introducing themselves again to the group. Then Alfred came in and placed platters of food down on the table. And dinner was over just like that.

Tim started to lead the group out of the room, “So, we can either play a board game or finish the Sailor Moon thing, or we could not do either of those.” he shrugged uncomfortably.

He seriously had no idea what to say. One minute ago they were laughing around the dinner table, and now? Silence, and not just any type of silence,  _ awkward silence _ . The type that made your stomach churn with anxiety, the type that made Tim  _ puke _ . The type that would wake him up in the middle of the night and make him run to the bathroom.

_ He hated this feeling. _

“Um, I’m going to run to the bathroom,” he said as they reached the den, “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” he quickly ran off to the nearest restroom.

He made it just in time to shut the door and lean over the toilet bowl. He puked a few times before someone knocked on the door.

“Hey, Timmy?” Jason turned the handle, “You okay in there?”

In response, Tim puked again.

“Yeah, you didn’t really look that great earlier.” Jason bent down next to Tim and rubbed circles on his back while reassuring him he was going to be okay, that  _ everything _ was going to be okay.

He finally stopped and sat down on the back of his heels, “I-I’m goin’ to wash my face.” Tim pushed himself up with Jason holding him.

He grabbed his designated “throw up” towel and wet it before rubbing his mouth. He felt like shit, but it would be rude to leave the others in the den. So, he washed his face, made sure he didn’t make a mess of his shirt, thanked Jay, then walked back to the den.

“Sorry about that,” he said a little too cheery and he strolled into the room, “so, what are we doing?”

“Hey,” Kon got up and walked towards Tim.

_ Oh no, he did something wrong didn’t he? Why did he always mess up? Why? _

“You doin’ okay?” Kon tucked a strand of Tim’s hair behind his ear, “Cos’ you don’t look too well.”

_ Oh. Well, this is different. _

“Ah, yeah, I’m fine.” Tim tried a smile.

“Hm, okay, tell me if you aren’t feeling well alright?”

Everyone had their eyes on him. He wasn’t even sure if those were concerned looks or disgusted ones.

Tim nodded stiffly. Hopefully, they didn’t hate him. The day had actually been going well, and of course, he had to ruin it, just like he always did.

_ Man, he really wishes he didn’t puke. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! So this chapter took a little longer than I had hoped, hence my fever. I really do hope that I can get rid of this stupid fever and start posting more around the time I had hoped to originally do. Again my apologies for this taking a while longer than planned.  
> \- Lactish
> 
> My Tumblr: https://lactish.tumblr.com/


	10. One more bad decision then I’ll go to bed, I promise you.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He sat there for a while in the dark with his hands over his face. His breathing was shaky and unstable. 
> 
> Just a little longer. I’ll stay here for just a little longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello dear readers, I have no clue what happened but here’s another chapter. Please read the Tws!
> 
> My Tumblr if you want to pester me with questions: https://lactish.tumblr.com/
> 
> TW: References to illness/puking, mentions and doings of smoking/underage drinking  
> I think that covers it! Please let me know if I should put anything else in the Tws!  
> (More notes at the end of the chapter).

Conner was concerned. He wasn’t just concerned because Tim had literally  _ ran _ to the bathroom, but because when he came back he looked like he was wasted. Conner had only seen people wasted a few times in his life, all of which were at parties that he  _ did not _ want to attend.

Tim returned to the room and Conner was on his feet in seconds. The guy seriously looked like he had just been sick, but when he asked if Tim was feeling okay, he was brushed off.

_ Strange _ . 

They all sat down again and chose what to do. Bart suggested that they actually do something like play a board game, Cassie agreed but stated that SORRY! was out of the question, Conner went along with it because he really couldn’t care less.

Tim got up on shaky legs and grabbed the box for Monopoly. They all gathered on the floor as Tim set up the game. Once the player pieces were out and everyone had chosen one, they began.

Once they were on the second round Bart screeched, “How?!” he turned to look Tim dead in the eyes, “How are you so good at this tooooo?!” he whined.

“Uh, well, Bruce is a CEO?” Tim shrugged awkwardly.

“Wait Bruce is your dad right?” Cassie looked up from the board.

“Yeah, he is,” Tim nodded, “oh, maybe we didn’t say it earlier, but um, everyone who was at the table other than you guys and Wally are his kids as well.”

Cassie gaped, “Hold up,” she put out her hand in front of her, “you’re saying that  _ all _ those kids are your siblings?”

Tim nodded.

Bart and Conner exchanged looks. How could one man manage that many kids?

“Kay, that’s a  _ lot _ of people living in one house,” Bart thought out loud.

“Eh, you get used to it,” Tim shrugged as he moved his piece, “boardwalk, Bart pay up.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hours went by. When did he and Conner start laughing again? Or when did Cassie actually talk to him? When did he and Bart exchange numbers? When did they  _ all  _ exchange numbers again?

_ When was he standing at the front door waving goodbye? _

“Hey, so you made it through the night!” Dick patted Tim’s shoulder.

Tim hummed and nodded absent mindlessly.

Wally’s car slowly made its way out of the driveway, and Tim felt empty. It was a feeling he hadn’t really felt, well, felt in  _ this _ way, he had always felt empty just not like  _ this _ .

He turned and walked back inside with Dick. Everything felt a little quieter.

Tim began the trek up the large old stairs at the entrance. He reached the top and walked down the long empty dark hallway, it reminded him of Janet and Jack’s house. His parents were never at home, leaving him in a dark silent mansion alone.

He reached his bedroom door and turned the knob. He slid into the room and shut the door behind him, he pressed his back against the cold surface of the wooden door and slid down to the floor. If he was having a mental breakdown, no one needed to know but him.

He sat there for a while in the dark with his hands over his face. His breathing was shaky and unstable. 

_ Just a little longer. I’ll stay here for just a little longer. _

He let out a quiet sob and pulled his knees up to his chest. Why was he crying? He had just had a great night, those people were nice to him, so why, why in the world was he crying?

He gradually managed to pick himself off the floor and walk over to his closet. He rifled through his clothes until he found his large black TNBH hoodie and a pair of short shorts. He pulled his clothes off and slipped the hoodie and shorts on.

He made his way over to his bed and laid down in a fluffy sea of sheets.

He stared at the ceiling for what felt like forever before he got back up. He sat on his bed and squinted at the clock. 12:20 AM, that wasn’t terrible.

He slid out of bed and slowly opened his bedroom door. He left his room and walked down the hall to one of the few balconies, the door was already open. Tim poked his head out and looked for the person who had opened it.

Jason and Dick’s backs were facing Tim, he could barely manage to hear anything they were saying.

“Y’know B’s gonna get mad at you for that Jaybird,” Dick motioned to the cigarette in Jason’s left hand.

“Yeah, yeah,” he waved him off, “what do you think he’d say about you drinking  _ this _ late?” Jason elbowed Dick,

“Ah, well you see,” Dick held up a finger in protest, “I’m an adult.”

Jason sighed and laughed before putting his cigarette back up to his mouth. He let out a smokey breath before handing it over to Dick for a smoke.

Tim felt sick again. He didn’t usually see Jason smoking. He knew Jason smoked, but he’d never seen or heard of Dick smoking,  _ ever _ . 

His eyes started to sting.

Tim could feel knots in his stomach and his throat slowly closing. He quietly ran past the balcony and to the nearest bathroom. He slammed the door shut and landed on his knees before toppling over the toilet bowl. He puked again. And honestly, he really didn’t think he had  _ anything _ left to throw up, but once again he was proven wrong.

A frantic “Tim?” came from down the hall.

He couldn’t pay attention to that right now though, he needed to finish being sick before he could even raise his head.

The door to the bathroom swung open and suddenly there was an agitated Jason at his side. He must have heard Tim puking.

“Hey Timbo,” Jason spoke in a hushed tone, “just relax okay? Can you do that for me?”

Tim nodded, he was sweaty and seriously felt dead. Jason snatched a towel from the sink counter and placed it on Tim’s mouth. It was quiet all except for Tim’s quiet whimpers and Jason’s soft reassurances.

Eventually, Tim calmed down and was able to breathe somewhat normally again.

“Hey, Timmers?” Jason pulled his younger brother in for a hug, “You wanna go out to the balcony with me?” Tim slowly nodded against his brother’s chest.

It was reassuring to have someone there, someone who cared enough to sit down with you and talk.

Jason helped Tim get onto his unstable legs and led him down the hall to the balcony.

Dick was gone, in his place on the banister rested a half-drunk bottle of beer and an open pack of cigarettes.

“You wanna smoke?” Jason asked his brother as he lit another cig.

Tim’s stomach lurched, he really did hate smoking and that hadn’t changed since the last few times he tried one, but now? He could care less.

“Sure,” he shrugged, “why not?”

Jason lit another cigarette and handed it over to his brother. He took the small thing and pushed himself up onto the banister so he was sitting with his back facing the inside of their house. Tim took a breath in as he pressed the cigarette to his lips. He had only done this a few times before most of which had made him extremely uncomfortable, the only time he had been fine with it was when he was smoking with Jason. That day had been pretty shitty, so in his opinion, he had every right to a little smoke.

Still, this was a terrible idea.

He took a few more minutes with the cigarette then put it out. He couldn’t stand it anymore. Maybe he should’ve brought his camera out here instead of picking up a cigarette with Jason.

Well, it was way too late for that now.

Dick stepped out onto the balcony with a blanket in hand, “Hey Baby Bird,” he gave a lopsided smile, “I thought you might need something to keep you warm.” he wrapped the blanket around Tim’s shoulders then gave him a tight squeeze.

Dick smelled like smoke, unlike his usual fragrance which reminded them all of Hawaii or some faraway place. It was a little disheartening. Despite not wanting to be hugged by a man who smelled like smoke- which he realized was hypocritical -he leaned into the touch and rested his head on his brother’s shoulder.

They stayed like that for a while silently resting with each other. Making bad decisions together. Like they did when they were younger when things were easier.

Still, Tim was a teenager and his brothers were adults (very irresponsible ones), and despite what others say, they still somewhat got along.

Maybe the three of them could stay like this a little longer.

_ One more bad decision then I’ll go to bed, I promise you. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okayyy, I mentioned in the TWs that there would be some underage smoking/references to some other things so, hopefully, you read those!
> 
> Anyway, I will try to get chapter 11 up and going sometime next week if I can remember.
> 
> Have a good day, and stay safe out there!
> 
> -Lactish
> 
> My Tumblr: https://lactish.tumblr.com/


	11. .friends.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Selecting the button for ‘new message’.
> 
> He quickly typed up his message and sent it. No time to look back at it now.
> 
> He shut his phone off and turned it over cursing himself for not looking over his message.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!
> 
> Here is the chapter I had to physically stop myself from writing and posting early. I also forgot to mention this last chapter in my notes but, please smoking is bad for you! Don’t do it! Anyway, enjoy!
> 
> TWS: References to illness/puking, underaged smoking(?)

Tim had gone to bed way later than he had planned. 

He had stumbled into his room with the blanket Dick got for him draped over his shoulder. He looked at the clock, 2:30 AM.

_ Man, where does the time go? _

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim’s eyes opened and he shot up.

He was in his bed under the covers with an extra blanket atop him. When did he get into bed again? And then it hit him. 

He had gone to the bathroom to puke, then had a smoke with Jason before Dick came out and gave him this blanket. He groaned.

This was a moment for him to  _ really _ reflect on his life choices.

Tim lay his head back down on his pillow and pulled his sheets over his head. Maybe he could sleep for a little longer?

For a few dreadful minutes, Tim lay awake with his eyes half-open. Trying to sleep was a  _ very _ tedious process for him. When he was little shadows would dance in the dark and would haunt him until sunlight shone through his curtains. Sleeping was a waste of time anyway, Tim could be doing more useful things like getting homework done or finishing a paper. However, Tim didn’t live with Janet and Jack Drake anymore, he didn’t live with the people who would give him bruises if he hadn’t spent that time perfecting his persona and making a place for himself in Drake industries.

It was better here anyway. Bruce cared about him, and he had siblings who were there for him, plus Alfred who knew exactly what to say and do to comfort him. Still, some nights he got that fear that Janet was going to grab his arm, her nails digging into his skin, or that Jack would hit him in the face and yell at the top of his lungs.

Tim started to get lost in a spiral of thought when the door to his room clicked open (which he was unfortunate to not hear) and there was suddenly an extra weight on the bed.

_ Oh, oh no. _ Tim startled and sat up, there was Bruce looking at Tim dead in the eye.

“Good morning Tim,” this was always how a lecture began, “let’s get going, oh, and don’t think I don’t know what you did last night.” Bruce waggled a finger while rising from the bed.

Tim groaned and flopped back down onto his soft mattress. Why couldn’t Bruce just let him do something stupid for once?

“I’ll meet you in the kitchen alright chum?” Tim grunted in response and watched as his father walked away.

He waited a few moments before rolling over onto his side and grabbing his phone off his nightstand. The screen turned on and three unread messages from random phone numbers appeared on his lock screen.

_ What? _ Tim quickly typed in his password and opened his messages app.

He clicked on the first message.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Last Night:**

Kon bolted to the den where his pull-out couch bed resided and flopped down.  _ Wow, that was a pretty great night _ .

He honestly was worried Tim would never open up to the group, yet the world (happily) proved him wrong. 

_ Ah, how being annoying can come in handy. _

“How was it?” Lois leaned on the doorframe.

“Great actually,” Kon laughed. It had been great, they’d watched a movie together and played Monopoly. 

“Wow, really?” she moved to sit at the foot of his bed, “Last I heard he was trying to avoid you all.”

Kon chuckled, Tim really had been avoiding them, like  _ really _ avoiding them. It was almost funny.

“Well, I’ll let you be a teenager,” Lois rose from the bed, “good night Conner.”

“Night!” he watched as the door slid shut behind her.

Now consumed by darkness Kon plucked his phone out and quickly opened it. He immediately scrolled through his apps finally finding his messages and opened them. Selecting the button for ‘new message’.

He quickly typed up his message and sent it.  _ No time to look back at it now. _

He shut his phone off and turned it over cursing himself for not looking over his message. He got up and slid off his pants and socks then unclipped his earring and slipped back under the covers of his bed. He rolled onto his side and closed his eyes.

Maybe the darkness of the night would let him slip into a nice calming slumber.

And then it was morning.

_ What the hell? _ Conner shifted in his pullout bed. Man, he was going to have to start going to bed sooner.

He yawned and slowly sat up. He stretched his back, the cracking sensation feeling great.

A few more yawns and a rub to his face later, Kon started to make his way out of his temporary room.

He was still dressed in his shirt from the other day and Lois pointed out when he reached the kitchen, she also mentioned that he shouldn’t be walking around in just his boxers.

He was  _ way _ too groggy to be dealing with Lois telling him off on his fashion choices. And if he was being honest, he had some pretty good fashion.

After scarfing down two pieces of buttered toast and a glass of freezing cold milk, he was awake and aware.

“Sorry uh Lois,” he turned to the woman next to her, “what didja say?”

Lois sighed and shook her head before turning to Kon, “I said, put on some pants mister, Bart and Cassie want to hang out with you today, so go get ready!”

Kon quickly got himself up and bounded down the hall to “ _ his room” _ . He rummaged through his unpacked suitcase before pulling out his favorite leather jacket, some gloves, a pair of ripped black jeans, and a nice Greenday T-shirt.

He pulled on some socks and a new pair of boxers before pulling on his new (and hopefully unworn) outfit. Kon grabbed his phone before jogging out of the room to the bathroom.

“Hey Kon,” his little half-brother, Jon, waved to him, his toothbrush hanging out of his mouth, “good morning.”

“Hey little guy,” Kon ruffled Jon’s hair, “Imma head out with Cassie and Bart later, you goin’ someplace with Clark?”

He watched as Jon nodded happily before turning back to brushing his teeth.

It had been a really long time since Kon had gone with Clark anywhere really. It wasn’t like Clark hated him it was just that he… didn’t like him  _ as _ much as he liked Jon.

Jon was wanted, he wasn’t, it was that simple. He never really thought about that anymore, ever since Clark had married Lois, Kon had been more welcome in the house, or it seemed like that.

Kon shook his head and took out his toothbrush, there was no point in thinking about the past, right now he was worried about what future Kon was going to do with his best friends.

He spit out the foam from the toothpaste into the sink and washed out his mouth with some water.

He grabbed his hairbrush and brushed through the unruly mess. Maybe he should cut his hair again? No wait, Bart  _ hated  _ Kon not having long hair, and Cassie teased him for it. He paused and watched himself in the mirror.  _ Yeah, longer hair is better. _

He padded down the hall to his pullout bed and flopped down pulling out his phone to shoot Bart a quick text.

_ Huh, I wonder if Tim responded yet _ , Conner absently wondered. He sent his message to Bart then went back to his conversations to see if anything had changed.

He clicked on his new conversation with Tim and saw, maybe the most horrible and annoying thing. Read. 

So, Tim  _ had  _ seen the text just didn’t respond? Yeah, he’ll admit, that’s pretty rude in his opinion.

He sighed then got up when he received a long monologue of Bart’s morning compressed into a text.

Maybe being hopeful isn’t going to open that kid up.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Damian!” Tim squealed, “Give. Me. Back. My. Phone!!!” he swiped at his little brother in an attempt to grab his device from him.

“No,  _ not  _ until you give me that popsicle!” damn that brat is so annoying.

“Uhg, can’t you just go get your own?” Damian shook his head, Tim sighed in defeat and handed over his popsicle.

Finally in possession of his phone again he clicked on his messages app. There was that text again. He supposed it was from that guy, Conner?

He read it again before deciding what he was going to say.

Conner’s text said: Hey man, it’s Conner!

Tim debated a few things, was it too casual to say something like ‘Hi it's Tim’ back, or was it weird?

Sure enough, he was lost in another swirl of anxious thoughts.

“Jeez Tim,” Jason brushed past him over to the fridge, “if you just keep staring at your damn phone Alfie’s gonna take  _ all _ of our devices y’know.”

Tim sighed and typed out a quick and simple, “Hi” then sent it off. And not even a second after he was regretting that being his response.

_ Shit _ . Why were conversations so hard again? He’d honestly like to go find the person who invented them and bonk them on the head,  _ hard. _

He slipped his phone into his back pocket but not before turning on his ringer.

He always forgot to turn that damn thing on.

“So,” Jason spoke while stuffing his mouth with a banana, “you feelin’ any better?”

Tim paused. Oh, yeah, he puked last night. “Yeah, way better.”

“Ah ha, yeahh,” Jason pointed one finger at Tim, “you don’t look like it.”

Tim sighed again.  _ Why did he have to have brothers again?  _ “Yeah, thanks for the compliment Jay.”

Jason shook his head in response and shoved the rest of the banana into his mouth then moved out of the kitchen.

Tim quickly made his way out of the kitchen and towards a nearby bathroom. Finally, alone he turned on the sink and let the freezing cold water spill over his cupped hands.

Sometimes his hands felt so dry that they couldn’t stand to touch anything until they had been woken up a little. He liked the sensation of the crisp water flowing over his fingers and into the sink bowl. 

He stood there for a moment letting the water wash over his hands before moving to dry them with a paper towel.

It was a very relaxing thing he tended to do on weekends. He would wake up early, contemplate why he woke up early, grab something small to eat, let water pour over his hands, then grab his camera around lunch. It was a routine, mainly for Sundays, but sometimes if he was lucky enough, he wouldn’t have anything to do on a Saturday and he would get to do this routine then too.

It was wonderful.

By the time he stepped out of the bathroom, he could hear a soft piano echoing through the long old halls of the manor.

Huh, he’s heard that one before. Wasn’t it that song from Howl’s Moving Castle?

_ Never knew Damian liked anime. _

Tim walked towards the sound trailing his hand along the wall as he went. After a while, he passed the library where Jason and Damian were. Jason peacefully reading his new Shakespeare book and Damian- who had now switched to playing Moonlight Sonata- played the piano.

Tim stayed hidden near the door frame for a moment, examining the scene.

A rose gold light drifting in through the large windows behind the two boys made everything look… how to describe it… Warm? Yeah, warm.

He instinctively moved towards the center of the doorframe and bent down into a crouch, his hands searching around his neck for his camera. 

_ Oh, I really must be dumb. _ He hadn’t even grabbed the damn thing from his room, hell he even forgot to eat breakfast.

Tim sighed and sat down on the floor, a small clicking noise coming from his phone making contact with the hardwood floor. And instantly he perked up. His phone camera wasn’t as good as his actual one but he could still use it.

He silently whipped out his phone and took a few photos. He would edit the lighting and fix it on his computer later, but right now what he really needed was his  _ real  _ camera.

He slowly pushed himself up and shuffled away from his brothers. Maybe he’ll show the photo to Bruce later, he might like to see his kids being peaceful with each other.

After a while of walking the halls, he reached his room. Over on the bookshelf was his camera, well one of his cameras. He had one on his bedside table, it was less beaten up and was newer than the one resting in his bookcase. Still, he liked the beaten one more, it was a reminder of those cold August nights he spent running through Gotham, getting beautiful photos of the not-so-beautiful city.

His eyes softened as he picked it up. There were a few dents and scratches covering the device, but that didn’t mean it was useless.

He huffed as he slid the strap around his neck and grabbed his ragged Vans and a red jacket from his closet. He tied the jacket around his waist and carried his shoes as he made his way down to the mudroom.

The house- if he was being truthful -was a little suffocating today. Before heading out the back door Tim grabbed his skateboard and shot a text to Bruce and Alfred.

_ They won’t be mad if he left for a little while. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um, so this is really late! Super sorry about that, life just really got in the way! Hopefully, I can have the next chapter up soon. Stay safe!
> 
> Thanks for tuning in, till next time!
> 
> -Lactish
> 
> My Tumblr: https://lactish.tumblr.com/


	12. He was a sk8tr boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassie shook her head and shivered, “You cold?” Tim asked as he slid down the gargoyle and back onto the rooftop.
> 
> She nodded and watched as Tim took off his jacket and handed it to her, she looked in surprise before kindly accepting it. Maybe she had been wrong about him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to a not so lovely surprise blood draw yesterday I had a semi-mild (?) panic attack day and went into (very) mild shock, yay… Anyway on a better note, here is chapter 12!
> 
> TWS: References to current injuries, blood

They were  _ not _ going to go to Metropolis. No way in hell.

“Cassie please!” Conner whined over the phone.

“No! We are  _ not _ going to Metropolis just to find something you misplaced,” she was getting fed up, “ask Jon or Lois to help you.”

“I did!” he protested, “Jon is helping me right now!” he flipped over something that sounded like bed covers.

“Okay, you can just share with Bart,” she countered.

“What? No, that would not work, Bart’s got small feet.” Cassie sighed, she was never going to get Conner out the door at this rate.

In the background, a few muffled yells sounded, “Uhm, okay Jon found them,” Conner nervously chuckled into the phone, “see you in ten?”

“Yes.” she hung up and got back to choosing a Jacket.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Conner  _ had _ gotten a text back from Tim. Did he respond? Not yet…

So probably saying leaving someone on read is mean and rude was hypocritical. Well, there was nothing he could do right now.

He slipped on his shoes and made sure they were laced tight. He did not want to sprain an ankle today.

He shot Bart another quick text. Lois ushered him to the door and did a quick checklist run through. Before fully walking out Conner stored some colorful Band-Aids in one of his jacket’s pockets.

Finally, the cold - and polluted - air hit Conner’s face and he was off. 

After a while of walking through the brisk semi-sunny day, Conner reached Bart’s place where he and Cassie agreed to meet up.

He made his way through the small garden in the front yard and knocked on the dark green door.

It really was quite peaceful outside, the air was nice and cool, the garden was-in his opinion- adorable, and the house looked really pretty. Suddenly the door swung open and Bart leaped into Conner’s surprised grasp.

“Whoa there!” he chuckled as he was being manhandled into a hug.

“Hi!” Bart giggled before stepping back, “I heard you were being an annoyance this morning?” he quirked an eyebrow.

“Ha, wow thanks Cassie,” Conner breathed, “very nice of you!” he called into the house.

Cassie laughed and shook her head, “Glad you found them!”

They all walked inside and collected their stuff before saying goodbye to Wally and the other half-awake family members.

And now they were off into the streets of Gotham!

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim was kinda wishing he had packed some Band-Aids.

He knew he should’ve before he left the house, but if one of his siblings saw him in the mudroom he knew Bruce would be notified.

And Bruce would definitely have something to say about it. Especially since last night had already gotten him a lecture.

Hopefully, he wouldn’t be gone from the house too long, well, at least not long enough to make anyone worry.

Tim pushed himself off the cement and examined his new scratch. It wasn’t too deep but that didn’t mean it wasn’t bleeding.

He would have to do something about that later.

Maybe he could run over to Selina’s and pester her for a box of bandages? Maybe.

He brushed off some dust from his jeans, grabbed his skateboard, and pulled himself out of the bowl and back to ground level.

That cut sure stung.

He slowly made his way to a nearby bench and placed his board against it. He dug his hands into his pockets and searched for that $20 he had shoved in there. Eventually, he pulled it out and thought about skating down to a nearby convenience store.

Nah, those are all in Crime Alley. If he showed up there Selina would sure have something to say, and really, he didn’t want another lecture.

He gave up on finding a Band-Aid and instead clambered back onto his board and off to a pipe. Maybe he could scout a good spot for picture taking.

A few quarter pipes and another rough landing later Tim found a spot. It was perfect. It had nice elevation, would be easy to see down from and would be relatively easy to get to. Now all he had to do was find his way up.

When he meant the spot would be relatively easy to get to, he meant it would be if he could find a starting point. Which he couldn’t…

He can just eye it right? Yeah, of course, he can. He’s been running around Gotham most of his life anyway, he could find a way up.

After a few minutes, he kicked his board up and placed it in the crook of his arm. He was now wishing he had brought his backpack as well.

The spot he had chosen was on top of some dirty old apartment building. In retrospect, it would be easier if he ran into the alleyway and climbed up the fire escape- if there was one -and get to the top that way. 

Easy peasy.

He placed his skateboard on the top of a large dumpster in the alleyway and began to climb onto it- and then there was a noise, one that  _ really  _ wasn’t something he liked to hear.

_ Shit! _

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bart was positive that the guy on the quarter pipe was Tim.

“Are you sure that’s him?” Conner said once he came up the side of the bowl.

“Yes! I’m positive!” Bart protested, he really didn’t like it when people didn’t believe him.

Cassie for maybe the hundredth time shook her head and sighed. She was annoyed, and honestly, anyone in that situation would be.

“Look, we can just go say hello and ask if he wants to hang!” Bart whined.

“Ugh, fine Bart!” Cassie gave in.

“Really?” Conner looked at Cassie in surprise. He really wanted to just have a day with his best friends unbothered, but as usual, that wasn’t going to happen.

Bart suddenly pointed his finger at a guy walking away from the park, “He’s leaving!” Bart quickly started to take off after Tim, Cassie, and Kon right behind him.

Tim dipped into an alley and Bart started to skid to a stop.

“Huh?” Bart looked around the alley in confusion, “He went down here right?”

Conner nodded and made his way over to the dumpster, the top had caved in but really, that wasn’t something he hadn’t seen before. However, what was in the dumpster wasn’t.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Uh, hi?” Conner towered over Tim.

“Hi…” Tim looked up at the larger boy, “Um, this isn’t what it looks like.” he raised a finger in protest.

“What?” Conner cocked his head to the side, “You’re taking a nap in a dumpster?” he put his hand out for Tim to take.

“Haha, very funny.” Tim took Conner’s hand and let himself be hauled out of the dumpster, “Thanks.” he muttered.

Once he was on solid ground he brushed himself off, “Ah shit,” Tim turned back to the dumpster and pulled out his skateboard, “so, uh, thanks?” he turned to the group.

Conner laughed, “No problem man!”

And Tim’s anxiety skyrocketed.  _ Why is he laughing? Is he laughing at me? What if he is? Is he making fun of me? _

“Uh, dude?” Conner waved a hand in front of Tim’s face, “you okay there bud?”

“Huh? Wha- oh yeah!” he flinched out of his thoughts, “Sorry.”

“Nah it’s fine dude, it happens,” Bart shrugged, “so what  _ were  _ you doing?”

“Uh, I was just going to take a few pictures.”

“Of a dumpster?” Cassie raised an eyebrow.

“Ah, no no, from the roof!” Tim pointed upwards.

“So, you were going to climb to the top of a building just to get a photo?” Cassie eyed Tim who just nodded in response.

“But,” he continued, “I think I’m just going to head over to one of my usual spots…” he trailed off

Bart practically was emitting light at this point, “Can we join you?” he started to bounce, “Please?” maybe he was vibrating now.

Tim was frozen, he opened and closed his mouth a few times before just nodding and watching as Bart squealed in excitement.

And they were off! Again… into the not-so-lovely-city of Gotham.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dick was sweaty by the time he pulled out his phone again.

_ Shit _ . 

Tim had been missing for about three hours at this point and  _ everyone _ was searching the house for him. Even Damian was worried, well, actually that’s a bit of a stretch.

Damian had actually said, “Uhg, finally we’re rid of him! I was worried you all actually liked him.”

Nevertheless, he was still searching the house for him.

“Damnit Tim please just pick up the phone…” Dick cursed under his breath as it went to voicemail once again.

“Hey, Dickie,” Jason walked into the room, “wherever he went he took his skateboard with him.”

Dick immediately rushed off to the mudroom, and sure enough, Tim’s shoes and his skateboard were missing.

“Okay, maybe he just went out for a ride and forgot to text us?” Dick turned back to Jason.

He knew what was going through his little brother’s mind, it was going through his too.

“Please god,” Jason muttered, “please let him be okay…”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim took the group up a huge building, and now he was resting on the back of a gargoyle.

“Um, so are you usually up this high?” Conner’s voice quivered.

“Yeah, actually, this one is pretty low…” Tim lowered his camera and looked back at the others.

“Bart buddy,” Conner grabbed him by the collar, “you’ve got to stop, you’re gonna fall!”

Bart smiled sheepishly at his friend, “I just wanted to see…”

Cassie shook her head and shivered, “You cold?” Tim asked as he slid down the gargoyle and back onto the rooftop.

She nodded and watched as Tim took off his jacket and handed it to her, she looked in surprise before kindly accepting it. Maybe she had been wrong about him.

“Hold on one sec,” Tim pulled out his phone, “I’m gonna send my brother a text, he’s probably at the studio, we can meet him there-” he stopped his eyes going wide.

_ That isn’t good. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does this count as a cliffhanger? Can’t wait to do the next chapter yay!  
> Thanks for tuning in, till next time!
> 
> Lactish
> 
> My Tumblr: https://lactish.tumblr.com/


	13. Θυμασαι (Remember)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Yeah, of course, Timmy…” Dick paused again- God Tim hated it-then he took a deep breath, “Hey, don’t fall alright?”
> 
> Tim’s heart started to pound, “Yeah, I promise I won’t.” and he really meant it this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Θυμασαι (Thee-ma-se) (English: remember)  
> TWS: References to illness/puking, past injuries/current injuries, blood, self-harm (sort of)

His home screen flashed 20 missed calls from Dick, 12 texts from Jason, and some more from Bruce, Alfred, and Damian (wow).

“Shit, shit, shit!” he cursed. Did he forget to turn his ringer on? He looked at the side of his phone.

Oh. Oh no, he’s just a dumbass and turned it _off_ not on.

He quickly checked his message to Alfred… which he had never sent… 

“Uh, you okay Tim?” Conner asked.

Tim turned to the group, “Sorry, I uh, I need to make a few calls…” anxiety laced his voice.

He quickly selected Dick’s phone contact and pressed the dial button.

Not even one ring passed before he heard his brother’s voice.

“Tim?” Dick’s voice was worried, “Tim are you okay? Where are you?” he started to shoot off questions.

“I’m, I’m so sorry,” he really was, “I, I thought I sent a message and it neverwentthroughandI, I’msosorry-”

“Shh, it's okay, it's okay,” Dick sushed his rambling, “you made a mistake and that’s okay, just try not to do it again okay?”

“Yeah, yeah…” Tim paused and looked behind himself, at his “friends”, “um, I’m with some, friends…”

The phone went quiet, “Wait, what?”

“Yeah I’m with the guys from the other night.” he started to scratch his elbow.

“Oh, great…” Dick paused again.

Tim really hated when he did that. It wasn’t normal for Dick… 

He hated it, he really did. And suddenly his hand was... wet… _huh, weird._

“Okay if you’re with friends you should be fine right?” Dick asked quietly.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m alright.” he paused when a hand grasped his wrist and slowly pulled it from his elbow, “Uh, I’ll talk to you later? When I get back?”

“Yeah, of course, Timmy…” Dick paused again- God Tim hated it-then he took a deep breath, “Hey, don’t fall alright?”

Tim felt something that felt like mist, or maybe it was drizzling?

Tim’s heart started to pound, “Yeah, I promise I won’t.” and he really meant it this time.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
 ** _A few years ago:_**

_Tim’s heart was pounding and his hair stuck to his face. And oh god if he wasn’t running as fast as he could he wouldn’t have made it this far._

_Seriously, Gotham nights were terrifying-- well, if you didn’t live in Gotham they were terrifying._

_Tim jumped over a narrow alley and stuck his landing on the roof, then he kept running._

_Man if he just hadn’t messed with those guys he would be fine!_

_He jumped again and slipped. If only it hadn’t been raining, maybe he wouldn’t have._

_Shit!_

_He started falling downwards and really couldn’t do anything to stop it. His frail body hit a lamp on the way down, the terrible sound of bone hitting metal. The clatter of his camera hitting the pavement and then black._

_Well, not really black. He sure hit his head hard but, he was seeing things like they were fading… it didn’t instantly go to black. He almost wishes it did._

_He heard a few voices above him, but he wasn’t sure if those were people on the rooftops or people literally right above him._

_His already blurry vision started to bleed red and if he didn’t get scared then, well, he might as well have been a robot._

_And this wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t gone up to those guys if only he hadn’t._

_And everything finally did go black._

_Sure enough, he woke up, but it wasn’t in his bed, it was in a hospital. And everything, he wasn’t joking, everything felt fuzzy like his head was some type of static._

_And when his dad walked in he froze. Why? Well, because the man who had walked in simply wasn’t his father._

_He knew this man, but this man sure wasn’t his father. And these other people with him weren’t his siblings. He didn’t have any siblings!_

_And that’s when the doctor declared that Tim had amnesia. Believe him, Tim was not pleased with this revelation. If anything he was pissed. How could he not remember these people? His family? His REAL family? The one that took him in with open arms? How could he not remember?_

_He spent a few weeks at most in that hospital room. There was the occasional visit from one of his older brothers- and oh my god, he had older brothers!- or his sister, sometimes even his dad or grandfather._

_And he loved it. Boy, he couldn’t wait to go back to their house - it was his too right?- and to hang out with his siblings and his dad. He really couldn’t wait._

_And you never know, he might even remember something about himself._

_Once he was discharged from the hospital, they took him out for ice cream -at his favorite place apparently- and then for a small walk in the park. After their little family adventure, they headed home. And wow, that's his house? It was huge! Way bigger than the Drake’s._

_They got out of the car, Jason, he thought his name was, holding onto his arm tightly. Then Alfred -he thinks- opened the door and a big german shepherd came barreling towards them._

_It was amazing! He had a pet too? Wow._

_Of course, he immediately went and explored the manor again, getting used to the things that had been so familiar to him before._

_And soon he was standing in front of a large painting of him and his new family. And then he really did know, he had lived here, this had been his family._

_Then he pondered, were they worried? Are they worried? This played in his head on repeat._

_He made his family anxious and worried… he had hurt his family._

_God, he felt so guilty._

_Eventually, over the course of a few months, pieces of who he used to be, came back to him. He started to remember things about his family and about the people he loved, and wow, they really did like him. They weren’t faking it._

_Maybe he should tell them about th--_

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim snapped back to reality as a larger hand grasped his own smaller one.

It was raining now.

“Hey, you okay there?” someone with a deeper voice asked.

The rain started to plaster Tim’s long(ish) hair to his forehead, he quickly pocketed his phone before he turned his head to find out who had just spoken. A boy with jet black hair, blue eyes, and tan skin stood next to him. The guy was wearing a dirty beaten up leather jacket with patches lining the arms, some old ragged jeans, and a pair of red Converse.

He absently nodded to the boy’s question. He still needed to put a name to him.

Seriously what was it? It started with a K, wait no, a C.

He paused for a moment to think… 

_Oh, Conner, that’s it._ He looked up as the other bo- Conner shifted to grab something from his pocket.

“Y’know,” he started, “maybe we should put some bandages on those cuts of yours.”

“Huh?” Tim watched as Conner pulled out a Band-Aid and bent down to put one on Tim’s knee, “Oh, uh thank you.”

He watched as Conner pulled out some more bandages and placed them over Tim’s fresh wounds, and wow that was really nice of him.

“Okay…” Conner huffed as he stood back up, rain bounced off of his jacket, “and we need one big one for your elbow…” he searched through his pocket, “hmm, okay I don’t have one big enough for that cut, we could go to a store nearby?” he suggested.

“Uh, sure!” Tim answered quickly. He really didn’t want to make them buy something for him, maybe he could convince them to go to Selina’s with him? Again maybe.

“Dude it’s totally fine, we don’t have to go get you a bandage, well, if you don’t want to.” Conner put his hand on Tim’s shoulder.

That, that type of gesture was something Tim _had_ to get used to. 

“Here there’s a convenience store nearby and I want to get a drink anyway,” Cassie moved towards the pair, the jacket wet but still draped around her arms, “we can get you a bandage there alright?”

Well, if they _wanted_ to go he’d go, “Yeah, okay…”

Tim went to scratch his arm again, but Conner’s hand shot out and took it in his. It was an oddly reassuring gesture, Dick had done it for him and his sibling's thousands of times before, it was nice.

Tim paused then gripped Conner’s hand just a little tighter, it helped with his anxiety, something Jason taught him to do.

The group finally agreed to go over to a nearby convenience store then made their way down the four-story apartment building that Tim had scouted and headed to the store. 

While going down the fire escape they had used to get to the top Tim slipped on the metal.

“Uff!” he landed on his butt, glad he had only fallen a short distance.

“Woah, you okay there?” Cassie helped him up.

“Yep,” Tim took her hand and brushed himself off, “this actually happens way more often than I’d like to admit-” he paused.

Wow was he getting friendly with these guys or what?

He quickly examined their faces, all of which were just smiles. _Huh, maybe the human race (other than my family) aren’t all assholes?_ And he smiled back.

They walked down the grimy streets of Gotham for a while before reaching their destination.

The convenience store.

Sliding doors parted as they entered the store. Finally, they were in a warm well lit place, and --

And there’s Selina. _Great._

“Tim is that you?”

 _Crap_ , “Selina?” he made eye contact with her, “Hi, how are you doing?” stupid question, he saw her last week.

“I’m good,” Selina scrunched her face in concern, “are you okay?” she reached out a hand and brushed Tim’s wet hair from his face.

“Yeah, just was uh, unprepared for the rain,” he forced a chuckle as Selina looked behind him at the others, “oh, those are just some of my friends.” 

“Ohh,” she dragged, “how sweet.” She obviously knew he hadn’t had any friends last week.

This may be a problem.

“Well, if you need anything you can always stop by my place alright?” Selina leaned forwards and booped Tim’s nose.

“Ha, of course.” he smiled meekly in response.

After a moment Selina went to the line slowly forming behind the register leaving Tim and the others.

He quickly turned around and let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. He should have known that Selina would be suspicious. _He should have known._

“Who was that?” Cassie asked while she slid off Tim’s jacket.

He debated on saying something like a friend’ or something along the lines of that, but inevitably his mouth was faster than his mind, “My step-mom…”

He shrugged as he was handed back his soaking wet jacket. He’d have to dry it later.

“Come on,” Conner placed a hand on Tim’s shoulder, “let’s get our stuff.”

So casual.

The group swept through the store grabbing what they needed and paying. Tim managed to pay for a box of bandages with a few protests from Conner and Bart.

The only thing he couldn’t stop was Conner’s determination to finish patching up Tim’s wrecked skin.

“Thanks,” Tim muttered.

“No problem!” Conner met Tim’s icy blue eyes.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“No problem!” Conner met Tim’s icy blue eyes, and _hoo boy_ , they pierced his soul.

Sure Tim was pretty… and cute, but his eyes were cold, his eyes were sad. Hurt maybe.

Wait… Conner did not just think that.

The group chatted as they walked out back into the rain. It hit his head with force, the loud pitter-patter knocking his skull.

“So, where to?” Bart laughed as he skipped through the rain.

Everyone turned their heads to Tim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, Happy Valentine's day! I am so sorry this chapter was late! I had terrible writer's block and literally couldn’t write. Again apologies!!!
> 
> -Lactish


	14. .Nothing goes my way.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skateboarding, photography, piano, dance… everything he had loved flushed down the drain along with his memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Reference to memory loss, past injuries, anxiety, and depression

Tim was in the corner of his room with his knees pressed up against his chest. He was glaring at his bed as if it had somehow hurt him, it obviously hadn’t done that, but he was thinking.

The walk home had been nice. The group had walked back to Bart’s place then all spit from there, each heading back to their houses. Once Tim got back Alfred informed him that Bruce had headed to work and would be back later, then he was hugged tightly by Dick and promptly got a lecture.

He wasn’t ready to get another lecture from anyone, especially Bruce.

So, instead of hanging out with his brothers, he was thinking. What _was_ he going to tell Bruce anyways? He could always just say he forgot to press send, but there was no doubt he was still gonna get grounded.

He just hoped that he wouldn’t be grounded from the dance studio…

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Did Conner need to call cassie? No, but did that ever stop him from doing it? Also no.

He picked up his phone and tapped on Cassie’s Icon, a few rings passed before she picked up the phone.

“Conner?” 

“Okay, _now_ tell me he’s rude.” he grinned

Cassie sighed, “Fine, he’s not rude,” she paused, “I guess he’s actually kinda nice…”

“So, I think we are sort of official friends with him now right?” he shrugged, Tim had called them _his_ friends earlier…

“I guess so, maybe we can convince him to hang out with us more?”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Tim I’m sorry,” Bruce placed his large hand softly on his son’s shoulder, he hated this, “I’m sorry, I really, really am.” 

Tim curled into himself more. He had been sitting in the corner obviously dreading this conversation.

“But, but why that?” Tim asked in a small voice, it reminded him of the times when he had to coax Jason out from under his bed, “ _Anything_ else, really, anything.”

Bruce couldn’t, he couldn’t repeal this grounding and he felt awful about it. He had grounded Tim from the one thing he actually enjoys leaving the house for. Dance. And _hell_ , he felt awful about it.

It was probably just the fear that something was going to happen again.

Bruce knows it was _his_ fault, he should have put more restrictions on the ‘going out alone’ thing. He should have done that _before_ anything happened _before_ Tim fell.

“Look I know, I wish I didn’t have to but it’s only for a week Tim,” he didn’t want to do this, “it’ll be okay son.” he pulled him in for a hug, rubbing circles on his back.

He hated this, he hated this, he _hated_ this.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**_A few years ago:_ **

_Tim stood in front of a large painting. It was of him and his ‘family’, the one that showed up in his hospital room, not Janet and Jack._

_It was a pretty painting. It had obviously been made years ago though. Tim looked quite young in the painting- he had to check beforehand, what did he look like?-._

_When he had gotten to the mirror and seen himself, he looked like he was what? 13? Not at all the age, he was when he had first moved into the manor._

_Weird._

_Of course, walking around the manor helped remind him of small things. It was hard though, every time he would remember something big he’d get a headache but if it was small, he’d just need to lie down and think for a while._

_Sure it was weird suddenly having to find out he had been adopted, that his parents had died. He had to mourn his parents **again**. It sucked. It also sucked that he had just started remembering the night they died..._

_He shook his head and moved on from the painting. Today he was alone. Which was good. It gave him time to think in silence._

_He walked down one of the dimly lit halls, dragging his hand along the dark wood walls. He paused at a window, looking out over the snow-covered yard._

_Pretty._

_And then he thought, hard. Was it that night so long ago, the one where everyone started freaking out? The one where everyone was scrambling to follow their brother through the yard into the forest. It was dark outside if he could recall correctly. Icy cold wind scratching at their faces and drying out their eyes as they ran._

_Uhg, he was getting a headache again. Tim closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, maybe he should go lie down._

_Instead, he made his way to the library._

_He stood in the entrance and stared up at the humongous glass windows spewing light into the room. His eyes slowly drifted to the dusty piano he used to play._

_It had been a long time since he had picked up an instrument of any kind. Honestly, it was a long time since he had done anything he liked._

_Skateboarding, photography, piano, dance… everything he had loved flushed down the drain **along** with his memories._

_He sighed then moved on into the room. He quietly trailed his fingers through the dust collecting on the piano, his finger-streaks showing the shiny finish._

_Maybe he could try playing a little? And suddenly excitement burst through him. Maybe it would help him remember? Maybe, maybe…_

_He quickly sat himself down in front of the 88 keys then paused. How does one play the piano again?_

_He guessed and placed his hands randomly on the piano then pressed down on the keys._

_That didn't sound too bad._

_He tried to remember whatever song he was playing and how to play it for a while._

_Finally (he thinks) he had it. He played the song through. It was odd, it was so pretty yet it ended on a kind of ugly note._

_“You know,” Jason’s voice came from behind him, “that song, Gymnopédie, was the one you’d listen to when you danced…”_

_Tim turned to his brother. Jason was gesturing to Tim with his old red & beaten up ‘The Catcher in The Rye’ book and leaning against a shelf._

_“Danced?” Tim questioned._

_Jason nodded his eyebrows making their way into a scowl. He definitely hated Tim’s whole amnesia problem. He really did._

_“Do you not remember dancing?” Jay crossed his arms._

_“No, no, I do,” he looked down at the waxed floor, “I just, um, well I don’t really remember it super well…”_

_Jason paused, his mouth slightly hanging open. After a moment he spoke, “Hey, why don’t you join Dick and I downstairs?”_

_“Huh, why?” Tim asked as he rose from his seat._

_“Don’t question me Timberlina.” Jason chuckled._

  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
**_Now:_ **

“Hey, Timberlina!” Jason called as he walked in.

His eyes locked on a small form huddled in the corner of the room.

 _Crap_. 

Tim was in the corner of his room on the hardwood floor curled into himself. He used to do that when he was upset, well when he was upset _before_ the accident. Jason was almost glad that another part of him had returned.

It had been a slow process but he was getting there.

“Hey, Timmy?” he bent down and ruffled his brother’s jet black hair.

“What?” Tim mumbled into his arms.

“You ready to head out?” he asked.

“What?” Tim looked up.

Jason sighed, “You really forgot you’re with me this weekend?”

Tim’s face went blank. Of course, he had forgotten, he just had a lecture from Bruce, the most emotionally stunted person to exist. Plus, to add to that situation was Tim’s terrible anxiety, he’d probably forgotten about it while thinking.

He sighed again.

“Kay, grab a few shirts n’ stuff em’ in your bag, grab some of your other shit and let's head out alright?” he stood up ignoring the way his knees hurt from bending down. Maybe he should head back to the studio sometime soon...

He shut Tim’s door as he exited the room and was almost immediately stopped by Bruce.

“He’ll go with you, but he’s grounded.” his father started telling him, “He is grounded from the Studio, so if you were planning to go there… drop him off at Dick’s apartment or the manor. Okay?”

 _Great_ , now his brother was grounded from one of the only things that kept him going. Just, great.

“Yeah, yeah, fine.” he brushed his father off. 

Bruce walked away leaving Jason in the hall. It reminded him of those times when they would fight, one of them storming off down the long corridors. When they were younger, before-

_Nah, don’t think about it._

Jason slipped out his phone and began typing up a message to Roy. Maybe he could see if he was around? And if he was, maybe he’d want to come over?

“Okay, sorry ‘bout the wait,” Tim said as he adjusted his backpack.

“Great, let’s head out,” Jason smiled then lifted himself off the wall and began walking.

_There was no way he was going to listen to Bruce._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jason is fun to write. Maybe we’ll see more of him in the future…
> 
> Sorry, the chapter is kinda short!!! 
> 
> -Lactish  
> My Tumblr: https://lactish.tumblr.com/


	15. It’s crowded on the weekdays

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So, you like coffee?” Conner raised an eyebrow.
> 
> Tim paused before looking at him questionably, “Who doesn’t?”
> 
> “Um, I don’t,” Conner giggled.
> 
> “What?!” Tim stared at him in disbelief, “How do you not like coffee?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter was short! I’m working on my posting schedule and also trying to find time to write in general. My apologies for the last few awkward times when I posted chapters like two weeks after I initially planned. I’ve been quite stressed as of recently and the stuff that tends to cause my stress is the same stuff that takes up the time I usually use for writing or relaxing. Again my apologies for the late posts! I’m working on it!
> 
> (My posting schedule may change, I’ll let you all know if it does)!
> 
> The title is from Metamodernity by Vansire  
> (I totally suggest this song)!
> 
> CW: same as last time (apologies I am quite tired if you need to see the CWs and TWs they are on the previous chapters)!

Thank god Jason had brought his (Bruce’s actually) car. Tim would have strangled him otherwise.

He usually was fine being on the motorcycle but today? Today he’s too tired to keep himself on top of that thing.

“Here we are!” Jason cheered as he pulled into his designated parking spot, “Home sweet home!”

Actually, Jason’s apartment was _far_ from sweet.

When Jason had moved out of the house, they had helped him find an apartment. And honestly, it didn’t help that his brother was so stubborn.

Tim and Bruce had found some nice apartments not far from the Manor, but Jason _insisted_ on this one.

It was in the middle of Crime alley (not the nicest place to live), and half of the time the heat didn’t work, which in Tim’s opinion sucked.

It was probably Jason’s history with the place n’ stuff like that. 

Even though the place was practically falling apart, Tim did love coming over. Why you may be asking? Well, it was all Jason’s cooking… _God_ Jason was a good cook. And honestly, it was odd that out of the entire family _Jason_ was the one who could cook the best.

The car engine came to a stop and the two brothers filed out of the car.

Soon enough they were at Jason’s door and he was fiddling with the keys, eventually, he slid one into the lock and they were inside.

Tim sighed and placed his bags in the guest room then threw himself violently onto the bed. Now all he wanted to do was sleep forever and forget he ever got a grounding from Bruce, but he couldn’t and Jason made that clear by picking him up.

“Come on Baby Bird,” he laughed while slinging his little brother over his shoulder, “it’s not that bad.”

“It. is. Awfullll.” he groaned because, in his mind, it was.

It was an honest mistake, but he had promised Bruce, Alfred, Selina, _and_ his family he'd always let them know when he was heading out. It became a rule that everyone had to follow.

Jason plopped Tim down on his old, but comfy, couch and headed into the kitchen.

“What do you want for dinner?”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Jon! Conner! Come here, it’s time for dinner!” Lois called from the kitchen.

Conner sighed and picked up his little brother before heading to the dining room.

Jon whined and squirmed until Conner put him down. He took the seat closest to Jon but furthest away from Clark and Lois. He was almost positive they were about to ask them a bunch of questions he didn’t want to answer yet.

“So, how was today kids?” Clark asked after a long awkward pause.

Jon immediately piped up giving all the details about his and Damian’s day together. Apparently, Damian had called Jon, both peasant, and plebeian in the same sentence. Lois obviously was straining a smile as she listened. Bruce was definitely going to get an earful about this later.

After a while, Jon stopped and it was Conner’s turn to speak.

“Uh, well, Bart n’ Cassie met me at the skatepark,” he poked at his food for a second, “um, we had fun, then we saw Tim there and we hung out with him for a little while.” this time when he looked up Lois’s smile seemed... Genuine.

So, he kept going. Told them about taking pictures, and the skateboard Tim had the rain… and he asked if he could hang out with Tim again sometime.

“Of course!” Lois cheered, “I’m so glad you like him!”

“Yeah,” Clark added, “Tim is a sweet kid, I was hoping you would get along.” he smiled.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sure enough, when Conner woke up the next morning, Lois had already planned for Tim to meet him at the mall.

“Okay, at 12:30 I’m going to drop you off at the front of the mall, Tim will meet you there, so just wait outside for him okay?” Lois read off her phone and checked that Conner knew the plan.

“Yes Lois,” he laughed, “I’ve got it.” He tied his shoelaces and made it to their rental car.

Conner climbed into the passenger seat next to Lois and quickly shot a test to Tim.

 **Conner at 12:15:** Hey, we’re leaving now! See you soon.

He sent the message without looking again. Maybe the “ _see you soon_ ” part was a little much, but he can’t change that now.

Lois turned up the radio as she pulled out of the driveway. 

The car they had rented really wasn’t top tier if you get what he’s saying. It just _did_ not look like something Tim’s parents would drive, and maybe Conner was a little embarrassed by that. Tim lived in a _huge_ mansion, his dad was the CEO of some very successful business, his mom(?) was an actor, and the rest of his family looked like they were models. Conner on the other hand, not so much. He grew up in a weird living condition, not living with his dad and instead his grandparents even though his father is alive.

Conner was hoping that by the time they got there Tim wouldn’t be.

Gladly when Conner stepped out of the car, Tim was nowhere in sight. He mentally let out a relieved sigh and waited for Tim.

It didn’t take too long for a car to pull up. This one was not at all what Conner was expecting.

The car looked like it had gone to hell and successfully made its way back to the surface with much trouble. The doors were dented and scratched, the back fender was gone and it looked like whoever owned it had nailed the license plate into the back of the car. In total, the vehicle was a disaster.

Surprisingly Tim was the one to walk out of it.

“Uh hi,” Tim smiled once he spotted Conner.

“Hey, how are you?” Conner asked.

“Oh, I’m good-” someone from the car started yelling.

“Tim! I’mma pick you up at like, six?” The voice sounded oddly like Jason’s, “Kay? Kay. See ya!”

And the car zoomed off.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim was insanely embarrassed. Jason couldn’t have just texted him? He couldn’t think about that now, he had someone he needed to interact with. Like a _normal_ person, not some hermit.

Sure he wasn’t planning on meeting up with Conner, but it seemed like Dick had made the choice for him.

“So where to first?” Conner asked, “I heard there are a few good ice cream places around here!” 

Tim smirked, ice cream was something he could do, “Come on,” he motioned with his head, “it’s this way.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Conner followed Tim through the mall trying to find the famed ice cream shop. The only reason he brought it up was because it was a fairly hot day in Gotham. 

Despite the hot weather, Tim was still wearing a black long-sleeved hoodie. _He must be burning in that…_ he frowned slightly and hoped his new friend wasn’t going to get heatstroke.

“So, what do you usually do in Gotham?” he asked, it was a stupid question really, but he had to ask. Really what did they do other than avoiding crime, rain, and pout with their pollution?

“Uhm, well, I skateboard, go to the bookstore and the studio,” Tim paused to think, “you know, normal people stuff.”

 _Huh, okay…_ “Cool, do you have any shows you like?” he was going to have to get to know Tim better if they were going to be friends.

“Uh, maybe… Well, I don’t watch a lot of TV really, so I’m just going to say Brooklyn 99,” and wow Conner was not expecting that.

“Wait you watch Brooklyn 99?” 

“Well, I just watch whatever my siblings put on or whatever’s on Tv, but yeah, Dick played it a few times,” Tim shrugged, “I liked it.”

“Dude, I _love_ that show!” Conner exclaimed, “It's hilarious!” sure he had never really paid too much attention to the actual show, but whenever he could take a break from chores he’d see if it was on TV.

“Yeah, I like it, are there any other shows you like?” Tim asked shyly.

“Of course!” Conner smiled broadly.

The two fell into an easy conversation, talking about hobbies and interests, what they didn’t like and what they did.

Conner liked this. Bart and Cassie were his friends sure, but none of them were able to do this sort of thing. An easy conversation.

Cassie was always a little more assertive, and Bart couldn’t stay on the same topic for even a minute. That didn’t mean he didn’t like them, they were his friends and he loved them, but sometimes he just needed something like this.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bruce was at work, had a migraine, and hated himself.

He hated himself so much that it was making the migraine worse. Today was just living hell at work.

Earlier this morning Bruce had received about 56 text messages from Dick and Jason combined (plus a few from Damian and Duke). He had proceeded to go through and read all of them, and that had started the migraine.

Most of the texts were from Dick saying things like:

_“I know ur emotionallly constipated B, buttttt, Timmy didnt deserve tht groundinggggg!!!”_

( _his son’s spelling was horrendous, he forgave him because Dick was probably in a rush_ )

Jason had said something along the lines of:

 _“Prepare to be crippled old man”_ and something like _“I’m serious. I want to go to the studio, lift the ban.”_

( _At least he had used correct grammar…_ )

Of course, this was normal. It was normal for them to be mad at him for grounding Tim. Still, it made him hate himself, it made him feel guilty.

He sighed as he finished reading a contract then pulled out his phone.

Bruce responded to Jason’s text:

“Fine, but remind him that he **NEEDS** to tell us when he leaves. If he does that to you we _all_ are going to have a _very_ large talk.”

He pressed send and hoped that his second eldest wasn’t going to have a rebellion again. (It was awful that last time it had happened).

Bruce was just insanely worried about losing one of them. He had almost lost Jason and then Tim. He was not going to let anything like that ever happen again. Ever.

He put down his phone then ran his hands over his face and let out another long sigh. It’ll be okay.

He picked up his pen and signed the contract.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The two of them had made it to the ice cream shop and were ordering.

“I’ll have the Churro Con Leche please,” Conner had finally decided on a flavor after being stuck between two really good ones.

Tim had ordered something like Coffee Bean, and uhgg, coffee was the bane of Conner’s existence. He _hated_ coffee.

They walked out of the store with their ice creams in hand, then found a nice place to sit.

Conner had gotten his in a cone, and Tim had gotten his in a cup.

“So, you like coffee?” Conner raised an eyebrow.

Tim paused before looking at him questionably, “Who doesn’t?”

“Um, I don’t,” Conner giggled.

“What?!” Tim stared at him in disbelief, “How do you _not_ like coffee?”

“Eh, it’s just the taste, it’s just,” he made a face, “y’know?”

“No, I absolutely do not understand anything you just said,” Tim smiled playfully, “it’s as if you’re speaking another language.”

Conner burst into laughter, this was definitely what he needed. Someone he could just be with, someone who had an easy flow. It was great.

After a few minutes they fell back into an awkward silence, and that is when Conner decided to ask a question, one that’s been on his mind for a while.

“Hey, when we were over a few days ago,” he paused to think, “you looked a little like you were seasick, are you doing okay?”

Tim looked down and stared into the bottom of his empty cup. Had Conner made him uncomfortable? Great, and they were actually getting somewhere-

“Yeah, I was a little, well- I just - I just have really bad anxiety and it kinda just kicked in..” he looked up at Conner, “and sometimes I get, well, I get sick.”

Oh, Conner had not expected that, but he kind of knew how that felt.

“I understand that, I used to get that way when I would visit the city to see my dad,” he really hadn’t liked it in the beginning and honestly, he still didn’t, “but, it got better after a while, I need help to do that though, so if you need anything or you feel uncomfortable, I can help you.”

Conner looked at his friend and smiled warmly. If Tim was going to be his friend, he was going to be there for him.

_“That’s honestly one of the nicest things anyone’s ever said to me.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh, so these chapters have been taking a while to get out and that’s just due to my workload as of now. I’m working on my update schedule and am trying to write more often. Hopefully, I can get another chapter out this week, if I can’t you’ll know because I just won’t put one up. I also still feel like my chapters are quite short, so I may take longer on getting chapter’s done so that they can be bigger in length. Thank you for being patient!!!
> 
> -Lactish  
> My Tumblr: https://lactish.tumblr.com/

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, hope you enjoyed this first chapter! hopefully, I will be getting to do the time skip soon maybe near the end of the next chapter :D  
> I will post the chapter by next Friday if I don't get to do it earlier in the week which I do think is gonna happen since I'm about done with it now :0 yay


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